What is the difference between surgery and procedure?

While the terms "surgery" and "procedure" are often used interchangeably in everyday speech, they do not actually mean the same. The key difference between surgery and procedure is needed to cut. The implementation or cutting into the skin to obtain access to deeper tissues or body organs is defining the characteristics of surgery. If a medical result is achieved without a break on the skin, then surgery was not usually performed.

Confusion often arises about the difference between surgery and procedure, because these two are closely related. Technically speaking, surgery is a specific type of procedure. The procedure is a wide general term that refers to any series of predefined steps that should be followed to achieve the desired result. Therefore, "surgery" is a synonym of "surgery". For clarity, procedures that do not fall under the classification of surgery. ”

While the technical definitions are largely true, traditional lines separating surgery and the procedure are beginning to blur somewhat in the face of continuing technological progress. With the development of modern surgical instruments, smaller and smaller slices are needed for many operations. For example, minimally invasive operations performed with laparoscopes require much smaller cuts than their more invasive alternatives. Smaller cuts lead to faster recovery time and also reduce the risk of infection. These changes require many people to adjust their mental concepts around what is the operation and procedure; Some could expect operations to have longer recovery times than procedures, but this assumption is not always correct.

with the advent of new technologies, such as lasers, has also expanded the definition of "cutting". In the past, cutting could only be achieved in traditional surgical instruments such as scalpels. Today, lasers can perform many of the same functionsand. In general, when lasers are used in a similar way to standard surgical tools, any such use is considered surgical. So, the Lasik eye surgery, in which the laser is used for cutting on eye tissue, is qualified as a surgery.

On the other hand, a non -invasive laser treatment is often considered to be a surgery. One example is the resurfacing laser in which laser is used to remove the upper layers of the skin. Although no main slices are made and lasers do not penetrate deep into the body, several properties of laser resurfacing lead many professionals to its classification as surgery. These properties include the types of lasers, the use of anesthesia and the covered surface of the surface.