AOBS Surgery key terms

A technique in which a machine temporarily takes over the functions of the heart and lungs, oxygenating blood and circulating it while the heart is stopped or still for surgery.

A clamp placed across the ascending aorta during cardiac surgery to isolate the heart from the systemic circulation, creating a still, bloodless field for constructing distal anastomoses.

Delivery of a cold or warm potassium-rich solution into the coronary circulation to arrest the heart and protect the myocardium from ischemic injury during aortic cross-clamping.

A branch of the subclavian artery harvested from the chest wall and used as a conduit in coronary bypass, valued for its long-term patency when grafted to the left anterior descending artery.

Surgical revascularization in which a conduit such as a vein or arterial graft is used to route blood around a narrowed or blocked coronary artery segment.

Air trapped in the pleural space under pressure that shifts mediastinal structures and impairs venous return, producing hypotension and respiratory distress; it requires immediate needle or tube decompression.

Fracture of several adjacent ribs in two or more places, creating a free segment of chest wall that moves paradoxically and often signals underlying pulmonary contusion.

Placement of a drainage tube through the chest wall into the pleural space to evacuate air, blood, or fluid and restore lung expansion.

Accumulation of blood in the pleural cavity, often from rib fractures or lung or vessel injury, which can cause hypovolemic shock and respiratory compromise and may require tube drainage.

Bruising and hemorrhage within lung tissue after blunt chest trauma, causing localized edema and impaired gas exchange that can worsen over the first 24 to 48 hours.

An abbreviated operation that stops hemorrhage and contamination quickly, packs the abdomen, and temporarily closes it, deferring definitive repair until the patient is physiologically stabilized.

Leaving the abdominal cavity open with a temporary closure device after surgery, allowing planned re-exploration or permitting edema to resolve before definitive fascial closure.

Organ dysfunction caused by sustained high intra-abdominal pressure, producing impaired ventilation, reduced venous return, and oliguria, and treated by decompressive laparotomy.

A bariatric operation creating a small gastric pouch anastomosed to a limb of jejunum, bypassing most of the stomach and proximal small bowel to reduce intake and absorption.

A bariatric procedure in which most of the stomach is stapled and removed, leaving a narrow tubular stomach that restricts intake and reduces hunger-related hormone production.

Failure of a surgical join between two hollow structures to heal, allowing luminal contents to escape and causing peritonitis, abscess, or sepsis; it is a feared complication after gastrointestinal and bariatric surgery.

Rapid emptying of food into the small intestine after gastric surgery, causing cramping, diarrhea, sweating, and tachycardia, often triggered by high-sugar meals.

Life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection, recognized clinically by rising organ dysfunction scores in a patient with suspected infection.

A subset of sepsis with persistent hypotension requiring vasopressors to maintain adequate mean arterial pressure despite fluid resuscitation, together with elevated lactate levels.

The rate at which blood lactate concentration falls over time, used as a marker of adequate resuscitation and improved tissue perfusion in critically ill patients.

A syndrome of acute hypoxemic respiratory failure with bilateral lung infiltrates not fully explained by cardiac failure, arising from inflammatory injury to the alveolar-capillary membrane.

Placing a patient face down to improve oxygenation in severe acute respiratory distress syndrome by recruiting dorsal lung regions and reducing ventilation-perfusion mismatch.

The pressure exerted within the rigid skull by brain tissue, blood, and cerebrospinal fluid; sustained elevation risks reduced cerebral perfusion and herniation.

The net pressure driving blood flow to the brain, calculated as mean arterial pressure minus intracranial pressure; it guides management of intracranial hypertension.

The principle that the skull is a fixed container, so an increase in the volume of brain, blood, or cerebrospinal fluid must be offset by a decrease in another component or pressure rises.

Removal of a portion of skull to allow a swollen brain to expand, relieving intracranial pressure when medical therapy fails after trauma or large infarction.

Bleeding into the subarachnoid space from a ruptured intracranial aneurysm, typically causing sudden severe headache and risking vasospasm, rebleeding, and hydrocephalus.

Neurologic deterioration from reduced cerebral blood flow, often due to vasospasm days after subarachnoid hemorrhage, and managed with hemodynamic support and monitoring.

A permanent focal dilation of the abdominal aorta, usually defined as diameter greater than 3 cm, which risks rupture as it enlarges and may be repaired electively or emergently.

A minimally invasive technique placing a stent-graft within the aorta through the femoral arteries to exclude an aneurysm from the circulation without open abdominal surgery.

A tear in the aortic intima allowing blood to track within the media and create a false lumen, causing severe tearing pain and risking malperfusion or rupture.

Elevated pressure within a closed fascial compartment that compromises blood flow to muscles and nerves, causing pain and risking irreversible tissue death without prompt decompression.

Surgical division of fascia to release pressure from a compartment, performed emergently to restore perfusion to muscle and nerve tissue.

Transfer of tissue with its blood supply detached and reconnected to recipient vessels using microvascular anastomoses, used to reconstruct large or complex defects.

A flap based on a single vessel that pierces the deep fascia to supply skin and fat, allowing tissue transfer with minimal donor-site muscle sacrifice.

Transfer of a sheet of epidermis and dermis without its own blood supply, which survives by imbibition and revascularization from the recipient bed.

Endoscopic removal of obstructing prostate tissue through the urethra using an electrified loop, commonly performed for benign prostatic enlargement.

Noncancerous enlargement of the transition zone of the prostate causing lower urinary tract symptoms, bladder outlet obstruction, and sometimes urinary retention.

Absorption of hypotonic irrigation fluid during prostate resection causing dilutional hyponatremia, fluid overload, and neurologic symptoms such as confusion or seizures.