General surgery can be performed on almost any area of the body. A general surgeon is a physician who performs surgery and provides preoperative, operative, and postoperative care to surgical patients. This surgeon can treat diseases, injuries or deformities by surgery or minimally invasive techniques, such as endoscopy, where a tiny scope is used to view internal organs or structures. The endoscope can be used during operating procedures, or before surgery, to diagnose, assess and treat problem areas.

Physicians in this specialty treat patients suffering from numerous diseases and illnesses, but some of the most common are breast disease, thyroid disorders, hernia, breast cancer, crohn's disease, cystic fibrosis, cirrhosis, hepatitis, lymphoma, chronic renal failure, morbid obesity, adhesions, colorectal cancer, hirschsprung's disease, volvulus, thyroid cancer, kidney cancer, metastatic disease, toxic megacolon, and meckel's diverticulum.

Once properly diagnosed, practitioners can perform numerous procedures on patients including microsurgery, mastectomy, laser surgery, minimally invasive surgery, breast reconstruction, breast surgery, thyroid surgery, laparoscopic surgery, da vinci surgical system, bypass surgery, robotic surgery, resection, liver transplant, whipple procedure, kidney transplant, bariatric surgery, appendectomy, cholecystectomy, cryosurgery, and abdominal surgery.

To diagnose patients with possible illnesses and diseases, specialists will often perform one of many tests including endoscopy, magnetic resonance imaging (mri), x-ray, computed axial tomography (ct or cat scan), electrocardiogram (ecg or ekg), biopsy, cardiac stress test, lower gi (barium enema), upper gi (barium swallow), and fecal occult bloodtest.

Doctor density varies by specialty and location. Kentucky has 322 practicing general surgeons. Broken out by city, general surgery doctor density in Albany is 1, in Ashland is 12, in Bardstown is 4, in Benton is 1, in Berea is 4, in Bethanna is 1, in Bowling Green is 9, in Cadiz is 1, in Campbellsville is 5, in Cold Spring is 4, in Columbia is 1, in Corbin is 4, in Covington is 4, in Crestview Hills is 2, in Crestwood is 1, in Cynthiana is 1, in Danville is 5, in Edgewood is 17, in Elizabethtown is 7, in Florence is 10, in Fort Campbell is 1, in Fort Knox is 1, in Fort Mitchell is 2, in Fort Thomas is 5, in Fortt Campbell is 1, in Frankfort is 2, in Franklin is 3, in Fulton is 1, in Georgetown is 5, in Germantown is 1, in Glasgow is 4, in Grand Rivers is 1, in Greensburg is 2, in Greenville is 2, in Harlan is 4, in Hartford is 1, in Hazard is 4, in Henderson is 3, in Hopkinsville is 7, in Hyden is 1, in Irvine is 2, in Jackson is 1, in Jenkins is 1, in La Grange is 2, in Lagrange is 2, in Lebanon is 2, in Leitchfield is 2, in Lexington is 39, in Liberty is 1, in London is 3, in Louisa is 3, in Louisville is 98, in Madisonville is 1, in Manchester is 2, in Marion is 3, in Mayfield is 4, in Maysville is 3, in Mckee is 1, in Middlesboro is 2, in Monticello is 1, in Morehead is 6, in Morganfield is 1, in Morhead is 2, in Mount Sterling is 2, in Murray is 5, in Owensboro is 1, in Owenton is 1, in Paducah is 12, in Paintsville is 3, in Paris is 3, in Perryville is 1, in Pikeville is 5, in Powderly is 4, in Prestonsburg is 3, in Prospect is 1, in Richmond is 6, in Russell is 1, in Russell Springs is 2, in Russellville is 1, in Salem is 3, in Salyersville is 1, in Scottsville is 2, in Shelbyville is 3, in Shepherdsville is 1, in Smithland is 2, in Somerset is 6, in South Williamson is 2, in Sturgis is 1, in Tompkinsville is 1, in Versailles is 1, in Villa Hills is 1, in Whitesburg is 3, in Williamstown is 2, and in Winchester is 1.

Kentucky is known for its thoroughbred horses, tobacco and bourbon, but there’s much more. The Kentucky parks system draw thousands of visitors each year for swimming, boating, hiking, biking, and picnicking. The capital city is Frankfort, and has many historic homes and sites to visit, including the Old Governor’s Mansion, the Capital City Museum, and the Liberty Hall Historic Site. Visitors can explore a cave in Mammoth Cave National Park, or when in Louisville, hear authentic bluegrass music. Famous people born in Kentucky are former president Abraham Lincoln, fighter Muhammad Ali, and actor Johnny Depp.

According to 2005 Census estimates, Kentucky has a population of 4,173,405. Of this population, 959,891 are under the age of 18 and 522,811 are at or above the age of 65.