The fundamental goal of surgical procedures is to amend and repair any mutilation, damage, or injury within the body. Doctors usually remove any harmful tissues having a bad impact over the health of a person. This is why surgeons are considered to be some of the most sophisticated people in the entire healthcare sector.
However, there is still a distinction between the ones carrying out general surgery vs minor surgery. These are the main two types of surgeries and let’s look at what both of these surgeries mean for patients.
Fundamental Aspects of Major Surgeries
The basic aspects of major surgeries involve cutting through the skin of the body and enabling the surgeons to access the infected region. As a result of such major surgeries, the skin tissues are extensively damaged and require an extended period for recovery. The overall risks of infection are quite high and most of these surgeries end up leaving a life-long scar on the body.
Here is a list of the names of major surgeries falling into the general surgery category:
- Heart surgeries
- Cesarean section
- Joint replacement
- Bariatric surgeries
- Organ replacement
- Full hysterectomy
- Gastric bypass
Although some of these procedures can be carried out in a less-damaging manner, but it is clear that almost all of them leave a major trauma on the body and its tissues. Some even leave perpetual complications as well.
Fundamental Aspects of a Minor Surgery
Minor surgeries are primarily the ones that cause less damage to the body tissues and do not result in long-lasting trauma. This means that majority of the minor surgery cases are done either arthroscopically or laparoscopically. To perform such procedures, very minor incursions or incisions are made, allowing only a small camera alongside the surgical tool to be inserted inside the body. Because of this, the surgeon is able to perform the surgery without any extensive damage to the bodily tissues. As a result, the overall risk of infection is reduced and the over recovery rate is much better as compared to the general surgery. Moreover, minor surgeries also involve multiple procedures that are mostly superficial. This means that they only have an impact on the outermost parts of the body.
Here is a list of some of the most popular Minor surgeries:
- Arthroscopy
- Breast biopsy
- Cataract surgery
- Laparoscopy
- Debridement procedures
- Dental restorations
- Circumcision
- Burn excision and
P.S: All of these surgeries are minor surgeries but they do involve some risks. However, the risk is lesser in degree and patients usually recover in less time.
Major Surgery vs. Minor Surgery
| Minor Surgery | Major Surgery |
| Lower risk of infection | Causes damage to the bodily tissues |
Lesser damage to the tissues | A very high risk of infection |
| Recovery time is shorter | Long and Extended recovery period |
| Small incisions are made | Extensive resection is carried out |
To sum it up, both major and minor surgeries are done with utmost care and they should be considered carefully. There is no doubt that risks are involved in both of the procedures but the benefits outweigh them. This mainly because these procedures are done to improve the overall quality of life of patients and they are necessary in many cases.
General vs Minor Surgery FAQs
An appendectomy is basically a very common and minor surgery that treats appendicitis. It involves the removal of appendix and depending on the overall medical history, it can be carried out either laparoscopically or openly.
The gallbladder surgery is also a minor surgery that involves the removal of the gallbladder from the body and therefore the incision is very small with little invasiveness.
