General surgery is a surgical specialty that focuses mainly on the abdominal and pelvic regions, including the esophagus, stomach, small and large intestines, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, appendix and bile ducts and, at times, the thyroid gland.

A hernia is a hole in the muscle of the abdominal wall. Other parts of the body can push through this hole, often causing a bulge that you can see or feel on the skin. There are several types of hernias, including incisional, inguinal, umbilical and sports. Sports hernias are slightly different than the other common hernias as they are an injury rather than a hole in need of repair.

Incisional hernia

This type of hernia can occur anywhere within the abdominal wall muscle where a previous operation was performed. Symptoms include a bulge or pain underneath an incision. Incisional hernias tend to enlarge over time and typically require repair.

Inguinal hernia

Inguinal hernias are found in the groin area, just above the pubic bone. They are the most common type of hernia and occur commonly in men. Symptoms of inguinal hernias include pain and a bulge in the lower abdomen, groin or testicle of men. The pain is experienced down the front of the thigh.

Umbilical hernia

These hernias occur along the midline of the abdominal wall between the belly button and sternum. Umbilical hernia symptoms include pain or discomfort around the belly button — when engaging in physical activity or after eating a meal. Most umbilical hernias get larger over time.

Sports hernia

Sports hernias are slightly different than other hernias. When athletes or other highly active people suffer from chronic groin pain, they may be experiencing a sports hernia. The name is a misnomer — the condition is not an actual ‘hernia’ but rather an injury in the same area as an inguinal hernia. Pain from sports hernia is felt during exercise and is generally on one side, but can be on both sides and is felt just above the pubic bone. The pain can radiate down the inner thigh and is aggravated by sudden movements.

Hernias don't always require repair. If a hernia is small and not painful, a hernia specialist may just observe the hernia for any changes over time. Most hernias do get bigger, and careful observation for symptoms is important. Hernias that are painful or getting larger should be repaired.

Most hernia repair involves a hernia surgeon reconstructing the abdominal wall with a specific type of mesh. Hernia repair with mesh has a slightly lower recurrence rate than treatment without mesh, depending on the type of hernia and the patient's condition.

Laparoscopic and robot-assisted surgeries

Whenever possible, we used minimally invasive or robot-assisted techniques during surgical procedures. Minimally invasive surgeries are done through smaller incisions than traditional operations, resulting in less pain, reduced scarring and a faster recovery for most patients.

The gallbladder is a small sac that protrudes from the bile duct. It stores bile temporarily, and empties occasionally, often after meals, allowing more bile to flow into the intestine.

Functional problems result when the gallbladder simply stops working properly. It's not known why this happens. The term for this is biliary dyskinesia and includes a group of problems that result when bile is not flowing properly.

Gallstones form in the gallbladder because the bile is stagnant here, and substances in the bile turn into solids, forming stones. Problems occur when the stones block the gallbladder or pass into the bile duct.

Symptoms of gallbladder disease

Symptoms of gallbladder disease include:

• Nausea or vomiting
• Pain in the mid or right upper part of the abdomen
• Pain radiating to the back, often between shoulder blades

Laparoscopic gallbladder surgery

The medical term for gallbladder removal is cholecystectomy. We use laparoscopic methods, which include a small camera inserted into the site, to treat gallbladder issues. The procedure takes about 30 minutes. There are four small incisions, but no stitches or bandages are needed. Gallbladder surgery is an outpatient operation, allowing you to return home about two hours after the operation.

We treat many conditions of the colon and rectum, such as:

• Anal fissures
• Colon and rectal cancer
• Diverticulitis
• Hemorrhoids
• Perirectal abscess
• Rectocele

In addition, we perform colonoscopies for diagnostic and polyp removal purposes.

We've performed more than 2,000 thyroid and parathyroid procedures. Common endocrine conditions treated include thyroid nodules, thyroid cancer and parathyroid disease.

We perform a wide variety of surgical procedures that fall under our extensive training expertise, including:

• Abdominal adhesion surgery
• Advanced wound care
• Appendectomy
• Biopsies and removal of abdominal masses
• Breast surgery
• Elective and emergency intestinal surgery
• Intra-abdominal tumors
• Liver biopsy
• Lung surgery
• Lymph node biopsy and removal
• Muscle biopsy
• Nerve biopsy
• Pilonidal cyst surgery
• Reflux surgery
• Soft tissue tumor masses (lipomas, cysts, moles)
• Spleen surgery
• Stomach surgery
• Temporal artery biopsy