General Surgery

Trust UNC Health Johnston for high-quality care before, during, and after surgery. Feel confident we have the facilities, technology, nursing expertise, and other support you and your surgeon need to get the best possible outcome from your procedure.

What is General Surgery?

General surgeons are experts in using surgery to help diagnose and treat conditions that affect your:

• Abdominal area
• Breasts
• Endocrine system
• Digestive tract
• Skin

Your general surgeon also provides care before and after surgery.

Common Procedures

Stay close to home and your support network when you choose UNC Health Johnston for your surgery. Rest assured, we have years of experience partnering with skilled general surgeons, including those at North Carolina Surgery. They provide a wide range of services, such as:

Abdominal Surgery

• Appendectomy – Takes out the appendix
• Hernia repair – Fixes a hernia, or tissue that bulges through a weak spot in your muscles or connective tissues
• Splenectomy – Removes your spleen

Breast Surgery

• Breast biopsy – Takes a small piece of tissue so it can be examined under a microscope
• Breast cancer surgery – Removes all or part of your breast to treat or prevent breast cancer
  • Breast-conserving surgery, including lumpectomy and partial mastectomy
  • Mastectomy, including skin-sparing mastectomy, total mastectomy, modified radical mastectomy, and radical mastectomy
• Breast reconstruction – Restores your breast’s appearance after breast cancer surgery

Endocrine Surgery

• Parathyroid surgery – Removes your parathyroid gland and/or a tumor on your parathyroid gland
• Thyroid surgery – Removes all or part of your thyroid gland

Gastrointestinal Surgery

• Anti-reflux surgery – Treats gastroesophageal reflux (GERD)
• Bowel resection (colectomy) – Removes all or part of your large intestine
• Colonoscopy – Uses a long, thin tube with a tiny camera on the end to look inside your large intestine
• Gallbladder surgery (cholecystectomy) – Removes the gallbladder
• Upper endoscopy – Uses a long, thin tube with a tiny camera on the end to look inside your esophagus, stomach, and upper small intestine

Support for Minimally Invasive Surgery

If you’re a candidate for minimally invasive surgery, know that your general surgeon has access to the right tools and support to perform your procedure at UNC Health Johnston. When your doctor uses a minimally invasive—or laparoscopic—approach, you may benefit from:

• Quicker recovery
• Less pain and scarring
• Shorter hospital stay