Though it sounds like an overarching umbrella for all forms of surgery, general surgery is actually a specific discipline that deals with diseased organs in the abdomen. General surgeons usually treat the stomach, intestines, liver, gallbladder and esophagus.

Increasingly, surgeons fall into highly specific sub-disciplines; and general surgery has lost some ground to the work of specialists. Even so, general surgery itself is traditionally broken down into a few subcategories, allowing a certain degree of specialization within the discipline itself.

Modern trends in general surgery have seen breakthroughs in minimally invasive techniques. Cutting edge robotic implements are able to make microscopic cuts under the direction of surgeons and, overall, the effect on the patient is less taxing.

Most general surgeons are on call to deal with cases of severe trauma. As a result, these doctors are trained to deal quickly with a variety of internal problems all at one time. For this reason, general surgeons are often the first to diagnose and treat a patient before passing the case on to a specialist.

Due to the number of organs located in the abdomen, organ transplants are usually performed by general surgeons. Many times, organ transplants are necessary when dealing with trauma cases, though the scarcity of donor organs places a number of restraints on this practice.

Recovery time after open surgery can be slow, and patients usually remain in the hospital for some time afterward. However, modern breakthroughs in general surgery have minimized incisions to a keyhole size in some cases, and many procedures can now be accomplished with scopes and other less invasive tools. As a result, patients can return to active life quickly.