Doctor-Reviewed Health Guides: Conditions, Procedures & Health News

A bullectomy is surgery to remove one or more bullae, large pockets of trapped air in the lungs, most often from bullous emphysema. Bullae can squeeze healthy lung, make breathing harder and cause a collapsed lung. The operation takes about 90 minutes to over 2 hours, and most people stay in the hospital at least 3 days.

Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) is an operation that removes tumors at the back of the throat through the mouth. A surgeon controls a camera and three robotic instruments from a console, so there is no need to split the jaw or make large cuts in the face or neck. Most people go home in 2 to 3 days.

Decortication is lung surgery that removes a fibrous layer of scar tissue (a peel) that has formed on the lining of the lung and stops it from expanding fully. Surgeons recommend it when draining fluid with a needle or chest tube hasn't worked, often after empyema. It can be open or minimally invasive and takes more than two hours.

Responsive neurostimulation (RNS) is a small device implanted in the skull to treat epilepsy. It watches brain waves where seizures start and, when it spots abnormal activity, sends brief, small electrical pulses to that area. It does not cure epilepsy, but it can reduce how many seizures you have over time.

Diverticulitis surgery removes the part of the colon damaged by diverticulitis, usually the sigmoid colon, and reconnects the healthy ends. Surgery may be needed when medicines do not work, when diverticulitis keeps coming back or when a fistula forms. It usually takes three to four hours, and up to 98% of people have no further episodes afterward.

Local anesthesia is medicine that numbs a small area of the body so you do not feel pain during a minor procedure. You stay awake. It comes as injections, creams, gels, sprays, eye drops and skin patches, and the numbness lasts 30 minutes to 12 hours or more. Side effects are usually mild, and serious reactions are rare.

Lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) removes damaged parts of the lungs that are trapping air, so the healthier parts can work better. It's for selected people with severe emphysema whose symptoms continue despite other treatment. It needs a three- to seven-day hospital stay. About half of people feel better, for two to five years, but LVRS isn't a cure.

A vestibulectomy is surgery that removes the painful tissue of the vulvar vestibule, the area around the vaginal opening. It treats vestibulodynia, a condition where touch or pressure at the vaginal opening causes pain. Doctors offer it only after gentler treatments haven't helped. It takes 30 to 60 minutes, and most people recover fully within 6 to 12 weeks.

Genicular artery embolization (GAE) is a minimally invasive treatment for knee osteoarthritis that relieves pain without surgery. Through a catheter in a blood vessel in the groin, a doctor injects beads that block abnormal blood vessels around the knee, reducing inflammation and pain. You go home the same day, and most people notice less pain within a few weeks.

A cricothyrotomy is an emergency procedure that opens an airway through the front of the neck. A provider cuts through the cricothyroid membrane and places a breathing tube into the windpipe. It's used only when a breathing tube can't be placed through the mouth or nose. It's usually changed to a tracheostomy within 1 to 3 days.

Kidney donation is surgery that removes a healthy kidney from a donor so it can be transplanted into someone whose kidneys have stopped working. Living donors must be at least 18. Most donors stay in the hospital two to three days and return to activities in four to six weeks. People with one kidney can live long, healthy lives.

Microvascular decompression (MVD) is surgery that relieves symptoms caused by a blood vessel pressing on a nerve as it leaves the brain. Through a small opening behind the ear, the surgeon moves the vessel off the nerve. It treats trigeminal neuralgia and hemifacial spasm. About 8 to 9 in 10 people feel better soon after surgery.

A vasectomy reversal is surgery that reconnects the tubes (vas deferens) that were cut during a vasectomy, so sperm can mix with semen again and you can try for a pregnancy. It takes up to four hours, you usually go home the same day, and sperm return to the semen in 60% to 95% of cases.

A pulpotomy is a dental procedure that removes unhealthy pulp from the crown (top part) of a tooth while leaving the root in place. It's often called a baby root canal because it's mostly done on baby molars. The dentist places a medicated filling and seals the tooth with a crown. It takes 30 to 45 minutes.

TEER (transcatheter edge-to-edge repair) is a minimally invasive way to fix a leaky mitral or tricuspid heart valve. A doctor guides a catheter through a vein in the groin to the heart and places small metal clips that hold the valve leaflets together. It takes two hours or less, and most people go home in one or two days.

A circumcision revision is a short surgery that repairs a previous circumcision that healed in an unexpected way. The surgeon removes extra or abnormal penile skin and closes the rest with dissolving stitches. It usually takes about 30 minutes under general anesthesia, and most children recover within one week to 10 days.

Esophageal dilation is an outpatient procedure that stretches narrowed parts of the esophagus so food and liquid pass through more easily. A gastroenterologist uses an endoscope with a balloon or thin tubes called bougies. It takes about 15 minutes and successfully treats more than 90% of esophageal strictures. Most people return to normal routines the next day.

Pleurodesis is a procedure that makes the two layers of the pleura (the thin linings around the lungs) stick together, so fluid or air can't keep building up and squeezing the lung. It's used for pleural effusions that keep coming back and for repeated collapsed lung. Talc pleurodesis works for at least 8 in 10 people.

A vampire facelift, or PRP facelift, is a nonsurgical way to rejuvenate facial skin. A provider injects platelet-rich plasma (PRP), taken from your own blood, together with a hyaluronic acid filler to contour the face, reduce wrinkles and plump the skin. It takes one to two hours, side effects are usually mild, and results last 12 to 18 months.

An arterial switch procedure is open-heart surgery for newborns with D-transposition of the great arteries (D-TGA), a heart defect in which the two main arteries leaving the heart are swapped. It's done in the first two weeks of life, carries a risk of death below 2% and about 96% of patients are alive 25 years later.

A lumbar drain is a small, flexible tube placed in the lower back that drains cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). It's used to treat CSF leaks, help manage normal pressure hydrocephalus and relieve pressure on the brain or nerves after surgery. Placing it takes about 30 minutes, and it usually stays in for a few days, rarely more than five.

Supraglottoplasty is a short surgery that removes and reshapes floppy tissue above the vocal cords so it no longer falls into the airway. It's the main surgical treatment for laryngomalacia, the most common cause of noisy breathing in babies. It takes less than an hour, most babies stay one night, and success rates range from 70% to 100%.

A kidney-pancreas transplant is surgery that gives a person a new kidney and a new pancreas at the same time, usually from the same deceased donor. It's for people who have kidney failure and type 1 diabetes. Most people no longer need dialysis, and many no longer need insulin. About 97% of people are alive one year later.

A necrosectomy is a procedure that removes dead tissue (necrosis) in or around the pancreas. It treats necrotizing pancreatitis, a severe form of pancreatitis that kills pancreatic tissue. Care teams try nonsurgical treatment first and use the least invasive approach possible. Most people stay in the hospital one to three weeks, and full recovery takes one to three months.