RECENT ADVANCES IN GENERAL SURGERY1

In order to give an overview of recent advances in general surgery, it is necessary to define: (i) what is general surgery; (ii) what is recent; and (iii) what constitutes an advance. General surgery appears to have entered an era of conservatism. This is particularly evident in the surgery of breast cancer, peptic ulceration, varicose velns, liver trauma, portal hypertension, upper gastrointestinal bleeding, and hiatal hernia. Controlled clinical trials in surgery have become popular. The following are considered to be advances: parenteral nutrition, suction drainage, control of Gram-negative sepsis, bypass surgery for pathological obesity, and a discriminatory approach to transplant surgery.