Surgery, also known as a surgical procedure or an operation, was any procedure performed on a patient often resulting in opening or closing of the body; it was usually performed with the hope of improving the health of the person operated on. It was commonly performed by a surgeon.
Cosmetic surgery was one type used to make one species look like another. (ENT: "Detained", "The Seventh"; TOS: "The Enterprise Incident"; TNG: "Who Watches The Watchers", "Homeward"; DS9: "Sons of Mogh"; VOY: "Faces")
Exploratory surgery was often used by a doctor to assist in diagnosing a patient, such as by Doctor Julian Bashir when he attempted to determine the cause of the sudden generosity of the Grand Nagus. (DS9: "Prophet Motive")
In ultimately unused dialogue from the final draft script of TOS: "The Menagerie, Part I", Captain Kirk suggested possible advanced surgical methods to Commodore Mendez as the reason Spock had commandeered the USS Enterprise to return his former commanding officer, Christopher Pike, to the planet Talos IV; Kirk speculated these hi-tech surgical procedures might have developed there, although Mendez doubted his theory.
Types of surgery
- Cellular surgery
- Cosmetic surgery
- Exploratory surgery
- Microsurgery
- Organ replacement surgery