BDS General Surgery Syllabus

General Surgery syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for General Surgery in BDS, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   General Surgery

   4 topics

   • Preoperative Care
     • Patient Assessment
     • Risk Stratification
     • Preoperative Investigations
     • Informed Consent
   • Postoperative Care
     • Monitoring and Support
     • Pain Management
     • Wound Care
     • Complications and Management
   • Surgical Infections
     • Types of Infections
     • Antibiotic Prophylaxis
     • Management of Surgical Site Infections
   • Surgical Techniques
     • Aseptic Techniques
     • Suturing and Knot Tying
     • Hemostasis
2. 2

   Trauma Surgery

   5 topics

   • Initial Assessment and Management
     • Primary Survey (ABCDE)
     • Secondary Survey
     • Trauma Resuscitation
   • Head and Neck Trauma
     • Scalp Lacerations
     • Facial Fractures
     • Neck Injuries
   • Thoracic Trauma
     • Chest Wall Injuries
     • Pulmonary Contusion
     • Cardiac Injuries
   • Abdominal Trauma
     • Solid Organ Injuries
     • Hollow Viscus Injuries
     • Retroperitoneal Hematoma
   • Orthopedic Trauma
     • Fracture Management
     • Dislocations
     • Compartment Syndrome
3. 3

   Gastrointestinal Surgery

   5 topics

   • Esophageal Surgery
     • Achalasia
     • Esophageal Cancer
     • Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
   • Gastric Surgery
     • Peptic Ulcer Disease
     • Gastric Cancer
     • Bariatric Surgery
   • Hepatobiliary Surgery
     • Liver Cirrhosis
     • Hepatocellular Carcinoma
     • Cholecystitis and Cholelithiasis
   • Pancreatic Surgery
     • Pancreatitis
     • Pancreatic Cancer
     • Cystic Neoplasms
   • Colorectal Surgery
     • Colorectal Cancer
     • Inflammatory Bowel Disease
     • Diverticular Disease
4. 4

   Cardiothoracic Surgery

   3 topics

   • Cardiac Surgery
     • Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG)
     • Valve Replacement Surgery
     • Congenital Heart Defects
   • Thoracic Surgery
     • Lung Cancer Surgery
     • Thoracoscopic Surgery
     • Pleural Diseases
   • Vascular Surgery
     • Aortic Aneurysm
     • Peripheral Arterial Disease
     • Carotid Endarterectomy
5. 5

   Neurosurgery

   3 topics

   • Cranial Surgery
     • Brain Tumors
     • Traumatic Brain Injury
     • Hydrocephalus
   • Spinal Surgery
     • Spinal Cord Injury
     • Degenerative Spine Disease
     • Spinal Tumors
   • Peripheral Nerve Surgery
     • Nerve Repair
     • Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
     • Peripheral Nerve Tumors
6. 6

   Pediatric Surgery

   3 topics

   • Neonatal Surgery
     • Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia
     • Esophageal Atresia
     • Imperforate Anus
   • Pediatric Oncology
     • Wilms' Tumor
     • Neuroblastoma
     • Rhabdomyosarcoma
   • Pediatric Trauma
     • Pediatric Fractures
     • Abdominal Trauma
     • Head Injuries
7. 7

   Plastic Surgery

   3 topics

   • Reconstructive Surgery
     • Burn Management
     • Cleft Lip and Palate
     • Breast Reconstruction
   • Cosmetic Surgery
     • Rhinoplasty
     • Liposuction
     • Facelift
   • Hand Surgery
     • Carpal Tunnel Release
     • Dupuytren's Contracture
     • Tendon Repair
8. 8

   Urology

   3 topics

   • Renal Surgery
     • Kidney Stones
     • Renal Cell Carcinoma
     • Nephrectomy
   • Bladder Surgery
     • Bladder Cancer
     • Cystectomy
     • Urinary Diversion
   • Prostate Surgery
     • Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia
     • Prostate Cancer
     • Prostatectomy
9. 9

   Orthopedic Surgery

   3 topics

   • Joint Replacement
     • Hip Replacement
     • Knee Replacement
     • Shoulder Replacement
   • Spine Surgery
     • Spinal Fusion
     • Disc Herniation
     • Scoliosis Surgery
   • Sports Injuries
     • ACL Reconstruction
     • Meniscal Repair
     • Rotator Cuff Repair

General Surgery flashcards for BDS

21 of 52 cards from the General Surgery deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What are the three overlapping phases of normal wound healing, in order?

   1) Inflammatory (hemostasis + inflammation, days 0-3), 2) Proliferative (fibroplasia, granulation, epithelialization, angiogenesis; days 3-21), 3) Remodeling/maturation (collagen type III replaced by type I; up to 1 year).

2. Preoperative care: what does an ASA Physical Status Classification of ASA III versus ASA IV indicate?

   ASA III = patient with severe systemic disease that is not incapacitating; ASA IV = severe systemic disease that is a constant threat to life.

3. How long should patients fast preoperatively for clear liquids versus solids per standard ASA guidelines?

   Clear liquids: $2$ hours; breast milk: $4$ hours; light meal/non-human milk: $6$ hours; fried/fatty food or full meal: $8$ hours.

4. Preoperative care: within what time window before incision should prophylactic antibiotics ideally be given?

   Within $60$ minutes before skin incision ($120$ minutes for vancomycin or fluoroquinolones due to longer infusion time).

5. Postoperative care: define the classic '5 Ws' causes of postoperative fever by typical postop day.

   Wind (atelectasis/pneumonia, days 1-2), Water (UTI, days 3-5), Wound (infection, days 5-7), Walking (DVT/PE, days 5+), Wonder drugs (drug fever/abscess, day 7+).

6. What is the most common cause of fever in the first 48 hours after surgery?

   Atelectasis (though modern evidence questions the strength of this link; early inflammatory response from surgery itself is also common).

7. Postoperative care: what is the recommended mechanical and pharmacologic VTE prophylaxis for a moderate-to-high risk surgical patient?

   Mechanical: intermittent pneumatic compression / graduated compression stockings; Pharmacologic: low-molecular-weight heparin (e.g., enoxaparin) or unfractionated heparin, plus early ambulation.

8. Surgical infections: define the four surgical wound classifications.

   Class I Clean; Class II Clean-contaminated (controlled entry of a hollow viscus); Class III Contaminated (open fresh wound, gross spillage, or major break in sterile technique); Class IV Dirty-infected (existing infection or perforated viscus).

9. What organism is the most common cause of surgical site infections overall?

   Staphylococcus aureus (including MRSA).

10. Surgical infections: what is the classic triad/clinical clue that should raise suspicion for necrotizing fasciitis?

    Pain out of proportion to exam, rapidly spreading erythema/edema with skin necrosis or bullae, systemic toxicity, and crepitus/gas; treatment is urgent surgical debridement plus broad-spectrum antibiotics.

11. What is the definition of sepsis under the Sepsis-3 criteria?

    Life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection, defined as an acute increase of $\geq 2$ points in the SOFA score due to infection.

12. Surgical techniques: differentiate primary, secondary, and tertiary (delayed primary) wound closure.

    Primary: wound edges approximated immediately. Secondary: wound left open to heal by granulation/contraction. Tertiary/delayed primary: wound left open initially then closed after several days once infection risk falls.

13. Surgical techniques: what suture material property is described by absorbable vs non-absorbable, and give one example of each.

    Absorbable = degraded by the body over time (e.g., Vicryl/polyglactin, Monocryl); Non-absorbable = retains strength indefinitely (e.g., Nylon, Prolene/polypropylene, silk).

14. Initial trauma assessment: list the ABCDE primary survey sequence.

    A: Airway with cervical-spine protection; B: Breathing/ventilation; C: Circulation with hemorrhage control; D: Disability (neurologic/GCS); E: Exposure/Environment (undress, prevent hypothermia).

15. What are the components and score range of the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS)?

    Eye opening ($1$-$4$), Verbal response ($1$-$5$), Motor response ($1$-$6$); total range $3$ to $15$.

16. Trauma: define the four classes of hemorrhagic shock by approximate blood loss.

    Class I: $<15\%$ (up to $\sim750$ mL); Class II: $15$-$30\%$; Class III: $30$-$40\%$; Class IV: $>40\%$ (in a $70$ kg adult, blood volume $\approx 5$ L).

17. Trauma initial management: what is the recommended initial crystalloid bolus and the modern approach to persistent hypotension from hemorrhage?

    Initial warmed crystalloid bolus $\approx 1$ L (pediatrics $20$ mL/kg); if ongoing hemorrhagic shock, move early to balanced blood product transfusion (packed RBC:FFP:platelets $\approx 1{:}1{:}1$) rather than large crystalloid volumes.

18. Head and neck trauma: what is the Cushing reflex/triad indicating raised intracranial pressure?

    Hypertension (widened pulse pressure), bradycardia, and irregular/depressed respirations.

19. Head trauma: what is the formula for cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP)?

    $$CPP = MAP - ICP$$ where MAP is mean arterial pressure and ICP is intracranial pressure; target CPP is typically $60$-$70$ mmHg.

20. Head trauma: contrast the CT appearance of epidural versus subdural hematoma.

    Epidural: biconvex/lens-shaped, does not cross suture lines, often arterial (middle meningeal artery), classic lucid interval. Subdural: crescent-shaped, crosses suture lines, venous (bridging veins), common in elderly/alcoholics.

21. Thoracic trauma: name the immediately life-threatening injuries identified in the primary survey (the 'lethal six' are secondary).

    Airway obstruction, tension pneumothorax, open pneumothorax, massive hemothorax, flail chest with pulmonary contusion, and cardiac tamponade.

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