Surgery / Operations

UK sources of information

 Royal College of Surgeons

This is a professional organisation but there is a section on their website dedicated to patients. There you can find some answers to questions on surgeons, operations and types of surgery including cosmetic surgery. You can also find guides to further sources of information.

 The Vascular Surgical Society of Great Britain & Ireland

Has a patient information section with factsheets on:

• Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms (AAA)
• Aortic Aneurysm - The Operation explained
• Aorto-bifemoral and axillo-bifemoral bypass grafting
• Arteriogram & Angioplasty
• Leg Amputations
• Arteriogram & Angioplasty
• Carotid Disease - General Information
• Carotid Endarterectomy - The Operation explained
• Chronic Venous Ulcer
• Femoropopliteal and Femorodistal Bypass - The Operation Explained
• Hyperhydrosis & Thoracoscopic Sympathectomy
• Intermittent Claudication
• Leg Amputations
• Lymphodema
• Raynauds, Scleroderma
• Renal Angiogram and Angioplasty - The procedure explained
• Transient Ischaemic Attacks
• Varicose Veins - General Information
• Varicose veins The Operation explained
• Venous Thrombosis & Air Travel

 British Society for Surgery of the Hand

Website of The British Society for Surgery of the Hand which gives information leaflets on various hand surgery procedures.

 Vascular and General Surgery Patient Information

Website with patient information written by a consultant surgeon in the UK. Includes information about various operations.

 Fast-Track Surgery and Enhanced Recovery

From the 'Behind the Medical Headlines' website developed to provide authoritative and independent expert commentaries on topical medical matters reported in the international media. Produced by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow.

 Surgical Site Infection

A patient guide to complement the NICE national guideline for health professionals called Surgical Site Infection.

 PPP Healthcare

Information about private healthcare but their website has information about a range of conditions and surgical procedures.

 BUPA

Information about private healthcare but their website has information about a range of conditions and surgical procedures.

 Information Regarding Operations

Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust provide a wide range of patient information leaflets including one in the following areas:

• Operation: Advice for children having an operation
• Operation: Advice for parents whose child is having an operation
• Operation: Advice for young persons having an operation

 King's College Hospital

Their patient information section has many leaflets on various operations and procedures.

Also, see the Patient UK:

• tests and investigations page
• plastic surgery page
• anaesthesia page
• orthopaedic page

 Medicine Guide for Surgical procedures

Provides detailed information about the drugs available to treat this condition. Medicine Guides provide reliable information about medicines, conditions and the different treatment options available. They have been developed in the UK as part of the Medicines Information Project.

Also, a European site with hundreds of links to many types of surgical procedure is the Karolinska Institutet University Library

Further sources / more detailed information

Some non-UK sites

The following list popular non-UK health information sites with content aimed at the general public. They are mainly from the US. They have not been checked to see if information about the above topic is included but these large sites are comprehensive.

• Non-UK disease / illness sites
• Non-UK self-help / support group sites

More detailed medical information

The following list online sources of more detailed medical information, mainly from the UK. These sites are mainly aimed at health professionals, but are of interest to all. They have not been checked to see if information about the above topic is included, but information about most medical topics can usually be found.

• PatientPlus - hundreds of medical reference articles provided by Patient UK.
• Evidence Based Medicine - such as from Clinical Evidence, The Cochrane Library, etc.
• Database of UK Clinical Guidelines - from NICE, SIGN, Clinical Knowledge Summaries, etc.
• Medline - abstracts available from thousands of journals.
• Sites listing free online medical textbooks and journals.
• Sites listing free medical images - pictures, atlases, anatomy, skin diseases, etc.