Surgical Abbreviations
51 abbreviations · part of Medical Abbreviations
Abbreviations for operations, perioperative workflow and surgical quality terms as written in operative notes, surgical schedules, consent forms and discharge instructions, covering general, breast, colorectal, bariatric, ENT, eye, plastic, vascular and orthopedic procedures. Many are informal clippings used by surgical teams, such as appy, lap chole and ex lap. Anesthesia terms are collected separately under anesthesia abbreviations.
| Abbreviation | Stands for | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ALND | Axillary lymph node dissection | Removes the lymph nodes from the armpit, usually levels I and II, in breast cancer and melanoma when nodes contain substantial cancer. |
| Appy | Appendectomy | Surgical team shorthand for removal of the appendix, usually laparoscopically, the standard treatment for acute appendicitis. |
| APR | Abdominoperineal resection | Operation for low rectal and anal cancers that removes the rectum, anus and sphincter muscles through abdominal and perineal incisions, leaving a permanent end colostomy. |
| BMP | Bone morphogenetic protein | Growth factor that stimulates bone formation, used in recombinant form (rhBMP-2) during spinal fusion and some fracture and dental procedures to promote bony healing. |
| BMT | Bilateral myringotomy and tubes | Ear procedure in which a small incision is made in each eardrum, fluid is suctioned from the middle ear and tiny ventilation tubes are inserted. |
| Circ | Circumcision | Removal of the foreskin of the penis, most often performed on newborns for cultural, religious or health reasons, and in older boys and men for phimosis, recurrent… |
| CTR | Carpal tunnel release | Operation that divides the transverse carpal ligament to relieve pressure on the median nerve at the wrist, treating carpal tunnel syndrome that does not improve with… |
| Cysto | Cystoscopy | Examination of the urethra and bladder with a thin camera (cystoscope), used to evaluate blood in the urine, recurrent infections and urinary symptoms and for bladder… |
| DIEP | Deep inferior epigastric perforator (flap) | Microsurgical breast reconstruction that transfers skin and fat from the lower abdomen to the chest, connecting the deep inferior epigastric vessels to vessels in the… |
| DOS | Day of surgery | Scheduling and nursing shorthand for the date of an operation and the activities on that day: arrival, check-in, final assessment, site marking and transfer to the… |
| EBL | Estimated blood loss | The surgical and anesthesia team's estimate of how much blood a patient lost during an operation or delivery, recorded in milliliters in the operative note. |
| ERAS | Enhanced recovery after surgery | Evidence-based perioperative care pathways that reduce surgical stress and speed recovery by combining patient education, carbohydrate drinks instead of prolonged… |
| EUA | Examination under anesthesia | Physical examination performed while the patient is anesthetized, allowing a thorough, painless assessment of areas difficult to examine awake, such as the anorectum… |
| Ex lap | Exploratory laparotomy | Open operation through a large abdominal incision, usually in the midline, to find and treat the source of a problem such as internal bleeding, bowel perforation… |
| Ex-fix | External fixator | Frame of pins or wires drilled into bone above and below a fracture and connected by rods outside the skin. |
| Fem-pop | Femoral-popliteal (bypass) | Vascular operation that routes blood around a blocked superficial femoral artery by connecting the femoral artery in the groin to the popliteal artery near the knee… |
| FESS | Functional endoscopic sinus surgery | Minimally invasive surgery performed through the nostrils with an endoscope to open blocked sinus drainage pathways, remove polyps and restore normal mucus clearance. |
| FS | Frozen section | Rapid pathology technique in which tissue removed during surgery is frozen, thinly sliced and stained so a pathologist can give a diagnosis within about 20 minutes… |
| FTSG | Full-thickness skin graft | Skin graft containing the entire epidermis and dermis, cut with a scalpel from sites such as behind the ear, above the collarbone or the groin, and used for smaller… |
| HIPEC | Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy | Treatment given in the operating room after cytoreductive surgery has removed all visible tumor from the abdomen: heated chemotherapy solution is circulated through the… |
| I&D | Incision and drainage | Procedure that opens an abscess or infected collection with a scalpel, drains the pus and breaks up internal pockets (loculations), often followed by packing or a drain. |
| IM | Intramedullary (nail or rod) | Describes a metal rod inserted into the hollow marrow canal of a long bone, most often the femur, tibia or humerus, to stabilize a fracture. |
| IOL | Intraocular lens | Artificial lens implanted in the eye, most often to replace the natural lens removed during cataract surgery. |
| LAGB | Laparoscopic adjustable gastric band | Bariatric procedure placing an inflatable silicone band around the top of the stomach, adjusted through a port under the skin to control food intake. |
| Lap | Laparoscopic (laparoscopy) | Prefix for procedures performed through small incisions with a camera (laparoscope) and long instruments while the abdomen is inflated with carbon dioxide, as in lap… |
| Lap chole | Laparoscopic cholecystectomy | Removal of the gallbladder through several small abdominal incisions using a camera and long instruments, the standard operation for symptomatic gallstones and acute… |
| LAR | Low anterior resection | Sphincter-preserving operation for rectal cancer that removes the diseased rectum with its surrounding mesorectum and joins the colon to the remaining rectum or anal… |
| LASIK | Laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis | Refractive eye surgery that corrects nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism by creating a thin corneal flap and reshaping the underlying cornea with an excimer… |
| LOA | Lysis of adhesions | Surgical division of internal scar tissue bands (adhesions) that form after previous operations or inflammation and can cause bowel obstruction, chronic pain or… |
| M&M | Morbidity and mortality (conference) | Regular, confidential case conference in which surgeons and other clinicians review complications and deaths to identify errors, system problems and lessons for… |
| MIS | Minimally invasive surgery | Umbrella term for operations performed through small incisions or natural openings using cameras and specialized instruments, including laparoscopy, thoracoscopy… |
| MRM | Modified radical mastectomy | Removal of the entire breast, including the skin over the tumor and the nipple, together with an axillary lymph node dissection, while preserving the chest wall muscles. |
| NSQIP | National Surgical Quality Improvement Program | American College of Surgeons program that collects risk-adjusted, clinically abstracted data on surgical outcomes at participating hospitals, allowing comparison of… |
| PAT | Preadmission testing | Hospital clinic or process in which patients scheduled for surgery have their history reviewed, receive instructions and complete required tests such as blood work, an… |
| PE | Pressure equalization (tubes) | Small tubes inserted through the eardrum to ventilate the middle ear and equalize pressure, commonly called PE tubes or ear tubes. |
| Phaco | Phacoemulsification | Standard modern cataract surgery technique in which an ultrasonic probe breaks up the clouded lens through a tiny corneal incision and suctions it out before a folded… |
| POD | Postoperative day | Counting system for days after surgery in which the day of the operation is POD 0. |
| Post-op | Postoperative | Refers to the period after surgery, from recovery in the post-anesthesia care unit through the hospital stay and follow-up visits. |
| Pre-op | Preoperative | Refers to the period before surgery and everything done in it: evaluation, testing, medication instructions, fasting, consent and the holding area where patients are… |
| PRK | Photorefractive keratectomy | Laser vision correction that removes the corneal surface layer (epithelium) and reshapes the cornea with an excimer laser without cutting a flap. |
| RCR | Rotator cuff repair | Reattaches torn rotator cuff tendons to the humerus, usually arthroscopically with suture anchors, for tears causing pain and weakness that persist despite therapy. |
| SLNB | Sentinel lymph node biopsy | Procedure that identifies and removes the first lymph nodes draining a tumor, located by injecting a radioactive tracer, blue dye or both, to determine whether cancer… |
| STSG | Split-thickness skin graft | Skin graft containing the epidermis and part of the dermis, harvested with a dermatome, usually from the thigh, and applied to burns, large wounds or areas left after… |
| T&A | Tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy | Removal of the palatine tonsils and the adenoids, performed mainly in children for obstructive sleep-disordered breathing and recurrent throat infections. |
| TAPP | Transabdominal preperitoneal (hernia repair) | Laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair in which the surgeon enters the abdominal cavity, opens the peritoneum over the groin, places mesh in the preperitoneal space and… |
| TEP | Totally extraperitoneal (hernia repair) | Laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair in which the surgeon works in the space between the abdominal wall muscles and the peritoneum, without entering the abdominal… |
| TME | Total mesorectal excision | Surgical technique for rectal cancer that removes the rectum together with its intact envelope of fat, blood vessels and lymph nodes (the mesorectum) by dissecting… |
| TRAM | Transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous (flap) | Breast reconstruction using skin, fat and some or all of one rectus abdominis muscle from the lower abdomen to form a new breast, either left attached to its blood… |
| UPPP | Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty | Operation that removes or reshapes tissue of the soft palate, uvula, tonsils and throat walls to enlarge the airway in obstructive sleep apnea or severe snoring. |
| VSG | Vertical sleeve gastrectomy | Bariatric operation that removes about 75 to 80 percent of the stomach, leaving a narrow tube-shaped "sleeve" that limits intake and lowers hunger hormone levels. |
| WLE | Wide local excision | Excision of a tumor with a surrounding margin of normal tissue, used for melanoma, other skin cancers, soft tissue sarcomas and breast cancer (lumpectomy). |
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