ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses common surgical interventions in obstetrics and gynaecology relevant to the Membership of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Part 3 examination. It summarises key issues in terms of pre-operative workup, description and use of surgical equipment, generic operative technique and approach for specific procedures, and also how to prevent and recognise complications. Once a surgical intervention has been decided upon, thought must turn to the pre-operative preparation of patients in order to minimise complications. Hospital admission should be kept to a minimum both for the convenience of patients and to reduce risk of hospital-acquired infections. Surgical site and hospital-acquired infections need to be considered as part of any discussion on operative interventions, an appreciation of the risk of infection and both primary and secondary prevention is important. Clinical infection with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) occurs either from the patient's own resident MRSA or by cross-infection from another person or directly/indirectly from a clinically infected patient.
