Surgery

When you choose OSF HealthCare for surgery, you select caring, compassionate and highly skilled experts. Discover why surgical care from our specialists may be the best choice for you or your family.

Why choose OSF HealthCare?

You’ll benefit from the advanced technology and skilled surgeons at OSF HealthCare. Many of our surgeons perform minimally invasive procedures that require smaller incisions, which means less bleeding, pain and recovery time for you. They may use robotic tools during surgery, which helps make minimally invasive procedures possible. Robotic surgical technology also improves safety during complex surgery.

Surgery Basics

Doctors perform surgery to diagnose illness, treat disease, repair damage or prevent future health concerns. There are two main types of surgery:

Emergency Surgery

This is when you need a procedure right away. A heart attack, burst appendix or traumatic injury are all examples that may require immediate surgical treatment.

Elective Surgery

If you don’t need surgery urgently, it’s elective. Many elective surgeries could be serious or lifesaving, but they don’t need to happen immediately. With elective surgery, you have time to choose your preferred surgeon and schedule your procedure in advance. Elective surgeries include knee replacement, cosmetic surgery and hernia repair.

Your Surgery Experience

When you have an elective procedure, it may be:

Inpatient surgery, which requires a hospital stay of at least 24 hours
Outpatient surgery

Types of Surgery

You have access to a range of surgical procedures from the qualified surgical professionals at OSF HealthCare. Because we have experts in many types of surgical care, you can feel confident you’re getting the treatment you need.

Brain Surgery

Our neurosurgeons treat many types of brain injuries and diseases. Services include minimally invasive brain procedures like the Gamma Knife cancer treatment, along with responsive neurostimulation for epilepsy.

Breast Surgery

Breast health specialists at OSF HealthCare help diagnose and treat diseases like breast cancer. You may receive breast surgery to treat or prevent cancer.

Chest Surgery

Your thoracic surgeon can perform surgical treatment on your lungs, esophagus and chest cavity. This includes treatment for cancer or injuries.

Children’s Surgery

Your child’s surgeons use robot-assisted and minimally invasive pediatric procedures when possible. That means your child has a better chance of recovering quickly.

General Surgery

You may receive general surgery if you have certain common health issues, especially digestive health conditions. Some available treatments include:

Heart and Vascular Surgery

Many OSF HealthCare surgeons specialize in treating cardiovascular disease. They perform minimally invasive and outpatient heart and vascular procedures when possible, which promotes an easier recovery.

Orthopedic Surgery

Orthopedic surgeons help treat musculoskeletal health issues, including joint injuries, broken bones and spine conditions.

Weight-Loss Surgery

If you have health conditions caused by excess weight, bariatric surgery may be a good option. OSF HealthCare offers multiple weight-loss procedures, including duodenal switch, gastric sleeve and gastric bypass.

Recovery After Surgery

After surgery, you’ll heal from your procedure using the enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocol. This approach helps you recover faster. Your care team will do these things as soon as possible after surgery:

Help you get up and walk around
Provide nutrition
Provide more than one type of pain relief, including alternatives to opioid medications
Remove drains

Schedule a Surgical Consultation

Ask your doctor for a referral to OSF HealthCare to schedule a surgical consultation.

Celebrating Our Amazing Patients

Read how Tom Prince found expert surgical care at OSF HealthCare, choosing our skilled team for his life-changing procedure.

Read His Inspiring Story

Discover how one heart surgery patient turned his gratitude into action, giving back as a volunteer with OSF HealthCare.

See Ken’s Journey

After kidney surgery, Brady’s back to the game he loves. Read his inspiring story of resilience and recovery.

Read Brady’s Story

Related Information

Understand Elective Surgery

Get Ready for Your Surgery