Elective surgery

<h2 id="description">Description</h2>
<p>An elective surgery or elective procedure (from the <a href="/facts/Latin_language/pM3Kge85">Latin</a>: <i>eligere</i>, meaning to choose<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a>) is a <a href="/facts/Surgery/fG8tWf5Y">surgery</a> that does not involve a <a href="/facts/Medical_emergency/5W8eARep">medical emergency</a> and is scheduled in advance. Semi-elective surgery is a surgery that must be done to preserve the patient's life, but does not need to be performed immediately.
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<h2 id="types">Types</h2>
<h3>Elective</h3>
<p>Most surgical medical treatments are elective, that is, scheduled at a time to suit the surgeon, hospital, and patient. These include <a href="/facts/Inguinal_hernia_surgery/TAXyAB7s">inguinal hernia surgery</a>, <a href="/facts/Cataract_surgery/6m2AMJ6E">cataract surgery</a>, <a href="/facts/Mastectomy/hRAcK3at">mastectomy</a> for breast cancer, and the <a href="/facts/Kidney_transplantation/WMeCmTBL">donation of a kidney</a> by a living donor.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a>
</p><p>Elective surgeries include all optional surgeries performed for non-medical reasons. This includes <a href="/facts/Cosmetic_surgery/zLCAX9hN">cosmetic surgery</a>, such as <a href="/facts/Facelift/F0CrmNIs">facelifts</a>, <a href="/facts/Breast_implant/FecnnAa6">breast implants</a>, <a href="/facts/Liposuction/lw8zKVY4">liposuction</a>, and <a href="/facts/Breast_reduction/oys5Tv8a">breast reduction</a>, which aim to subjectively improve a patient's physical appearance. Another optional surgery is <a href="/facts/LASIK/QnonaDeI">LASIK</a>—currently the top elective surgery in the United States<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a>—where a patient weighs the risks against increased quality of life expectations.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a>
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<h3>Semi-elective</h3>

<p>When a condition is worsening but has not yet reached the point of a true emergency, surgeons speak of <i>semi-elective surgery</i>: the problem must be dealt with, but a brief delay is not expected to affect the outcome. Semi-elective procedures are typically scheduled within a time frame deemed appropriate for the patient's condition and disease.  Removal of a <a href="/facts/Malignancy/L03QLSbE">malignancy</a>, for example, is usually scheduled as semi-elective surgery, to be performed within a set number of days or weeks. 
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<h2 id="urgency">Urgency</h2>

<p>In a patient with multiple medical conditions, problems classified as needing semi-elective surgeries may be postponed until emergent conditions have been addressed and the patient is medically stable.  For example, whenever possible, pregnant women typically postpone all elective and semi-elective procedures until after giving birth.
</p><p>In some situations, an urgently needed surgery will be postponed briefly to permit even more urgent conditions to be addressed. In other situations, emergency surgery may be performed at the same time as life-saving <a href="/facts/Resuscitation/4XVQBKkV">resuscitation</a> efforts.
</p><p>Many surgeries can be performed as either elective or emergency surgeries, depending on the patient's needs. A sudden worsening of <a href="/facts/Gallbladder_disease/D56CJkIJ">gallbladder disease</a> may require immediate removal of the gallbladder by emergency surgery, but this surgery is more commonly scheduled in advance. An <a href="/facts/Appendectomy/uQmNlJNQ">appendectomy</a> is considered emergency surgery, but depending upon how early the diagnosis was made, the patient may have more time before the appendix risks rupturing or the infection spreads. Also, in certain emergency conditions, even ones like a <a href="/facts/Heart_attack/xoGw0qcG">heart attack</a> or <a href="/facts/Stroke/DwpjdzY0">stroke</a>, surgery may or may not need to be utilized.
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<h2 id="best-practices">Best practices</h2>
<p>Preoperative carbohydrates may decrease amount of time spent in hospital recovering.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a>
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<h2 id="non-elective-surgery">Non-elective surgery</h2>
<p>Non-elective surgeries may be classified as <i>urgent</i> or <i>emergency</i>. An urgent surgery is one that can wait until the patient is medically stable, but should generally be done within 2 days. An <a href="/facts/Emergency/YUzHaQXe">emergency</a> surgery is one that must be performed without delay; the patient has no choice other than immediate surgery if permanent disability or death is to be avoided.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> Urgent surgery is typically performed with 48 hours of diagnosis and emergency surgery is performed as soon as a surgeon is available.  A <a href="/facts/Trauma_center/Mzz3FMCt">trauma center</a> is a hospital which supports emergency surgery on critically ill patients at the brink of death by ensuring that on a <a href="/facts/24%2f7_service/rz7EnUGz">24/7 basis</a>, a surgeon is always on the premises (or "in-house") to evaluate patients and can take them immediately to the operating room.
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<h2 id="bibliography">Bibliography</h2>
<ul><li>C. Parchment-Smith (2006). <i>Essential Revision Notes for Intercollegiate MRCS: Bk. 1</i>. Knutsford, Cheshire, UK: PasTest, LLC. p. 439. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 1-904627-36-6.</li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>Mosby's Medical, Nursing & Allied Health Dictionary (4 ed.). St. Louis, Missouri: Mosby. 1994. p. 530. OCLC 29185395. <a href="/wiki/Mosby%27s_Medical,_Nursing_%26_Allied_Health_Dictionary" target="_blank">/wiki/Mosby%27s_Medical,_Nursing_%26_Allied_Health_Dictionary</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:2"><p>Rusciano, Alex (2020-09-30). "What is an elective surgery?". OSF HealthCare Blog. Retrieved 2024-08-14. <a href="https://www.osfhealthcare.org/blog/what-is-an-elective-surgery/" target="_blank">https://www.osfhealthcare.org/blog/what-is-an-elective-surgery/</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:3"><p>"The brain of Lasik: Santa Ana company develops new device, derived from space telescope, to personalize laser eye surgery". Orange County Register. 2015-08-01. Archived from the original on 2018-01-25. Retrieved 2018-01-24. <a href="https://www.ocregister.com/2015/08/01/the-brain-of-lasik-santa-ana-company-develops-new-device-derived-from-space-telescope-to-personalize-laser-eye-surgery/" target="_blank">https://www.ocregister.com/2015/08/01/the-brain-of-lasik-santa-ana-company-develops-new-device-derived-from-space-telescope-to-personalize-laser-eye-surgery/</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:4"><p>LASIK Eye Surgery <a href="https://www.waitevision.com/lasik-utah-salt-lake-city/" target="_blank">https://www.waitevision.com/lasik-utah-salt-lake-city/</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:5"><p>Smith, MD; McCall, J; Plank, L; Herbison, GP; Soop, M; Nygren, J (Aug 14, 2014). "Preoperative carbohydrate treatment for enhancing recovery after elective surgery". The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 8 (8): CD009161. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD009161.pub2. PMC 11060647. PMID 25121931. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11060647" target="_blank">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11060647</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:6"><p>"Surgery, elective". MedTerms. MedicineNet. Archived from the original on 2014-03-13. Retrieved 2011-07-19. <a href="http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=14368" target="_blank">http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=14368</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
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Elective surgery