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

Interproximal reduction (IPR) is a dental procedure that removes a small amount of enamel from between the teeth to create space before braces, clear aligners or other orthodontic treatment. A dentist usually removes no more than half a millimeter per tooth. It usually doesn't hurt and takes a few minutes, but the change is permanent.

A uterus transplant moves a uterus from a donor to a person with absolute uterine factor infertility (AUFI), meaning they were born without a uterus or have one that does not work. It makes pregnancy possible through IVF. Babies are delivered by C-section, and the uterus is removed after one or two births.

A lumpectomy is breast surgery that removes a tumor and a thin rim of healthy tissue around it while keeping the rest of the breast. It's usually an outpatient operation that takes one to two hours, most people feel recovered in about two weeks, and most then have radiation to lower the chance of the cancer coming back.

A double (bilateral) mastectomy is surgery that removes all breast tissue from both breasts. It is done to treat breast cancer in both breasts or to prevent cancer in people at very high risk. Without reconstruction it takes a few hours, and most people go home the same day.

A kidney biopsy is a procedure that removes a sample of kidney tissue so a pathologist can look for disease. It can find scarring, inflammation, protein deposits and inherited disorders that other tests may miss. Most biopsies are done with a needle through the skin and take an hour. Most people return to work in a day or two.

Seton placement is a minor surgery to treat an anal fistula, an abnormal tunnel between the inside of the anus and the skin around it. The surgeon threads a thin piece of surgical material, called a seton, through the tunnel to keep it open so it can drain. Most people go home the same day.

Histotripsy is a noninvasive ultrasound treatment that destroys liver tumors without cuts, heat or radiation. A machine focuses short, powerful sound pulses on the tumor, creating tiny bubbles that break cancer cells apart. The U.S. FDA authorized it for liver tumors in October 2023. A session takes an hour, and most people go home the same day.

A foraminotomy is surgery that relieves pressure on a spinal nerve root by widening the foramen, the opening where the nerve root leaves the spinal canal. It treats spinal stenosis and can ease nerve pain, numbness, tingling and weakness. It takes two hours, most people go home after one night, and full recovery can take up to a year.

A hemispherectomy is a rare brain surgery that removes or disconnects one half of the brain from the other to stop seizures that medicine cannot control. It's done mainly in children. The operation takes five hours, the hospital stay is 5 to 7 days, and studies show that more than 66% to over 80% of children become seizure-free.

A tracheostomy is an opening through the neck into the windpipe (trachea), with a tube placed in it to help you breathe. It's used when the airway is blocked, when someone needs a ventilator for more than a week or when mucus cannot be coughed up. Most are temporary, and the opening heals in about two weeks.

A clitoral hood reduction is elective surgery that removes extra skin from the clitoral hood, the folds that cover and protect the clitoris. People choose it to change the size, shape or look of the hood or to ease irritation from excess tissue. It's an outpatient procedure that takes under two hours, and most swelling settles by six weeks.

A mastectomy is surgery to remove breast tissue, most often to treat breast cancer or to lower the risk of it in people at very high risk. Main types include total, skin-sparing, nipple-sparing and modified radical mastectomy. Most people stay one night, drains stay in for one to two weeks, and the wound heals in three weeks.

A hemicolectomy is surgery that removes one side of the colon, right or left. It's most often done for colon cancer, precancerous polyps, severe Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, a blocked bowel or a hole in the colon. Most operations need a three- to four-day hospital stay. Most people resume usual routines in one to two weeks.

To use a cane, hold it in the hand opposite your weaker leg, set the handle level with the crease of your wrist so your elbow bends 20 degrees, and move the cane forward with your weaker leg. Then step through with your stronger leg. On stairs, lead with the stronger leg going up and the weaker leg going down.

A laparoscopy is a minimally invasive procedure in which a surgeon passes a thin camera, called a laparoscope, through a cut of about 1 cm to see inside the abdomen or pelvis. It can find the cause of symptoms, take biopsies or treat problems such as endometriosis, cysts, hernias and gallstones. Many people return to work in three days.

A laminotomy is spine surgery that removes a small piece of the lamina, the bony arch at the back of a vertebra, to take pressure off a pinched nerve. It usually takes about one to one and a half hours for one vertebra, most people go home the same day, and complete healing takes about six weeks.

A liver transplant is major surgery that replaces a diseased liver with a healthy whole or partial liver from a deceased or living donor. It is usually a last resort for liver failure or liver cancer. About 90% of people survive at least one year, and about 73% are alive after five years.

A cholecystectomy is surgery to remove the gallbladder, most often because of painful gallstones. It is usually done laparoscopically through a few small cuts, takes about 60 to 90 minutes and often lets you go home the same day. Recovery takes about two weeks, and most people digest food normally without a gallbladder.

A vasectomy is a permanent birth control procedure for men. A urologist cuts and seals the vas deferens, the two tubes that carry sperm, so sperm no longer mix into semen. It takes 15 minutes, most people recover in 8 to 9 days, and once a semen test confirms no sperm, it fails less than 1% of the time.

Tracheostomy suctioning is a procedure that removes mucus and secretions from a tracheostomy tube when coughing does not clear them, helping keep the airway open. The catheter should never be forced or inserted beyond the instructed depth, and each attempt should last no more than 10 seconds. If suctioning fails and breathing distress continues, call for emergency help immediately.

Voice feminization surgery is a procedure that permanently raises vocal pitch by shortening, thinning or tightening the vocal cords; voice therapy is a low-risk, reversible alternative. The most common procedure, anterior glottal web formation, typically takes one to three hours, and full healing may take six months to one year. Seek emergency care for breathing or swallowing trouble.

A vesicostomy is a procedure that creates an opening from a child's bladder through the lower abdomen so urine can drain when the child has trouble emptying the bladder. It is usually temporary and most often used in young children, with urine draining into the diaper. Contact the care team for high fever, incision redness or blood in the urine.

Vaginoplasty is a procedure to construct or repair the vagina after damage, injury or other medical or personal concerns, such as changes after childbirth or aging, reconstruction after cancer treatment or congenital abnormalities. The surgical approach depends on the reason. Some procedures take up to 10 hours, and recovery may last from a few weeks to a few months.

Urinary diversion is surgery that creates a new way for urine to leave the body when the bladder has been removed or does not work properly, for reasons such as bladder cancer or severe trauma. An incontinent diversion, most commonly an ileal conduit, drains urine into an external bag, while a continent diversion creates an internal pouch or neobladder.