Minor surgical procedures are frequently performed in ambulatory care settings and office practices. As a medical assistant, you must be knowledgeable of the types of procedures performed where you are employed. You need to know how to prepare the patient for surgery, assist the practitioner during surgery, and care for the patient after surgery. Because all types of surgery require surgical asepsis, discussed in Chapter 20, a working knowledge of this technique is mandatory. Assisting with minor surgery requires a variety of duties and skills.

Outline

• The Medical Assistant's Role in Minor Surgery
• Surgery in the Physician's Office
• Instruments Used in Minor Surgery
• Asepsis
• Preoperative Procedures
• Intraoperative Procedures
• Postoperative Procedures

Learning Outcomes

After completing Chapter 41, you will be able to:

 41.1 Define the medical assistant's role in minor surgical procedures.
 41.2 Describe types of wounds and explain how they heal.
 41.3 Describe special surgical procedures performed in an office setting.
 41.4 List the instruments used in minor surgery and describe their functions.
 41.5 Describe and contrast the procedures for medical and sterile asepsis in minor surgery.
 41.6 Describe the medical assistant's duties in preparing to assist in minor surgery.
 41.7 Describe the medical assistant's duties in preparing a patient for surgery.
 41.8 Describe the types of local anesthetics for minor surgery and the medical assistant's role in their administration.
 41.9 Describe the duties of the medical assistant as a floater and as a sterile scrub assistant.
 41.10 Describe the medical assistant's duties in the postoperative period.

Summary

As the doctor's assistant in minor surgical procedures, you perform many functions. Your responsibilities during the patient's preoperative and postoperative care, however, are just as important.

Before surgery, you provide the patient with preoperative instructions, make sure the necessary administrative and legal forms are completed, help prepare the patient emotionally, and set up the surgical room. You then confirm that the patient has followed all preoperative instructions and physically prepare the patient for surgery.

During the procedure, you follow proper medical and surgical aseptic techniques. Your actual responsibilities vary with the role you play as a floater or a sterile scrub assistant for a particular surgery. At all times you ensure the safety and comfort of the patient and are knowledgeable enough to function as the doctor's “right hand” during the procedure.

After the surgery, you provide the postoperative patient with care and instruction that will help ensure prompt healing. Finally, you clean the surgical room and prepare it for the next procedure.