Emergency general surgery (EGS) encompasses the care of the most acutely ill, highest risk, and most costly general surgery patients. This is a particularly high-risk population of surgery patients—those who undergo an EGS operation are up to 8 times more likely to die postoperatively than are patients undergoing the same procedures selectively. The researchers in the US examined data, analyzed information on 421,476 patients who needed emergency general surgery and ranked 35 procedure groups.
A final set of seven operative emergency general procedures were identified as the riskiest, with many affecting the bowel. The procedures are: Partial colectomy (removal of part of the colon or bowel) Small-bowel resection Cholecystectomy (removal of gall bladder) Stomach ulcer surgery Removal of peritoneal (abdominal) adhesions Appendectomy (removal of the appendix) Laparotomy (an operation to…
