Surgery Cheat Sheet

The core ideas of Surgery distilled into a single, scannable reference — perfect for review or quick lookup.

PiqCue — piqcue.com/surgery/cheatsheet

Quick Reference

Aseptic Technique

A set of practices and procedures performed under carefully controlled conditions to minimize contamination by pathogens. It includes hand hygiene, sterile gowning and gloving, preparation of the surgical field, and sterilization of instruments.

Anesthesia

The medically induced loss of sensation or awareness used to enable painless surgical procedures. The three main types are general anesthesia (full unconsciousness), regional anesthesia (numbing a large body area), and local anesthesia (numbing a small specific area).

Hemostasis

The process of stopping bleeding during surgery through mechanical means (clamping, ligation, suturing), thermal energy (electrocautery, laser), or pharmacological agents (topical thrombin, hemostatic sealants). Achieving reliable hemostasis is fundamental to every surgical procedure.

Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS)

Surgical techniques that use small incisions and specialized instruments, often guided by a camera (laparoscope or endoscope), to perform operations with less tissue trauma. Benefits include reduced pain, shorter hospital stays, and faster recovery compared to traditional open surgery.

Surgical Wound Classification

A standardized system that categorizes operative wounds by their degree of contamination: clean (Class I), clean-contaminated (Class II), contaminated (Class III), and dirty-infected (Class IV). This classification guides antibiotic prophylaxis and predicts infection risk.

Informed Consent

The ethical and legal process by which a patient voluntarily agrees to a proposed surgical procedure after being fully informed of its nature, purpose, risks, benefits, and alternatives. Valid consent requires the patient to have decision-making capacity and freedom from coercion.

Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS)

An evidence-based, multimodal perioperative care pathway designed to reduce the surgical stress response, maintain physiological function, and accelerate recovery. ERAS protocols address preoperative counseling, nutrition, fluid management, pain control, and early mobilization.

Surgical Safety Checklist

A communication tool developed by the World Health Organization that structures three critical pause points during surgery: the sign-in (before anesthesia), time-out (before incision), and sign-out (before leaving the operating room). It has been shown to significantly reduce surgical mortality and complications.

Wound Healing

The biological process by which the body repairs damaged tissue, progressing through overlapping phases of hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation (granulation tissue formation and re-epithelialization), and remodeling. Surgeons must understand this process to choose appropriate closure techniques and manage complications.

Robotic-Assisted Surgery

A form of minimally invasive surgery in which the surgeon operates robotic arms from a console, gaining enhanced visualization through a 3D magnified view, greater instrument articulation, and tremor filtration. It is widely used in urology, gynecology, and general surgery.

Key Terms at a Glance

Anastomosis:A surgical connection made between two tubular structures, such as segments of bowel, blood vessels, or ureters, to restore continuity after resection or bypass.

Laparotomy:A surgical incision through the abdominal wall to gain access to the abdominal cavity, typically made along the midline (median laparotomy) for broad exposure.

Debridement:The removal of dead, damaged, or infected tissue from a wound to promote healing. Methods include sharp (scalpel), mechanical, enzymatic, and autolytic debridement.

Hemostasis:The cessation of bleeding, achieved surgically through ligation (tying off vessels), electrocautery, application of hemostatic agents, or direct pressure.

Insufflation:The introduction of gas (typically carbon dioxide) into a body cavity to create space for visualization and instrument manipulation, most commonly used to establish pneumoperitoneum for laparoscopic surgery.

Fasciotomy:An emergency surgical procedure in which the fascia (fibrous tissue enclosing a muscle compartment) is cut to relieve dangerously elevated intra-compartmental pressure and restore perfusion.

Excision:The surgical removal of tissue, an organ, or a structure by cutting it out of the body, typically using a scalpel or similar sharp instrument.

Retractor:A surgical instrument used to separate the edges of an incision or hold back underlying organs and tissues to expose the operative field. Examples include self-retaining (Balfour, Bookwalter) and handheld (Army-Navy, Richardson) retractors.

Trocar:A sharp-tipped instrument enclosed in a cannula, used to puncture the body wall and establish port access for laparoscopic instruments and the camera.

Perioperative:The entire time period surrounding a surgical procedure, encompassing preoperative (before surgery), intraoperative (during surgery), and postoperative (after surgery) phases.

Adhesion:Bands of fibrous scar tissue that form between internal organs and tissues, commonly occurring after abdominal surgery. Adhesions can cause bowel obstruction, chronic pain, and infertility.

Resection:The surgical removal of part or all of an organ or structure, such as a bowel resection (removal of a segment of intestine) or pulmonary resection (removal of lung tissue).

Biopsy:The removal of a sample of tissue from the body for examination under a microscope to determine the presence, nature, or extent of a disease, especially cancer.

Cauterization:The use of heat (thermal cautery), electric current (electrocautery), or chemicals to burn, seal, or destroy tissue, most commonly used during surgery to stop bleeding from small vessels.

Ligation:The tying off of a blood vessel, duct, or other tubular anatomical structure using suture material or a clip to prevent blood flow or leakage of contents.

Get study tips in your inbox

We'll send you evidence-based study strategies and new cheat sheets as they're published.

We'll notify you about updates. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.