The emergency surgery team at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania specializes in acute care for patients that need surgery within a 24-hour period. Penn Emergency Surgery sees patients who come through the emergency department or are transferred in from other hospitals with highly complex general emergency surgical needs. These emergency surgeries are not usually caused by traumatic events. Penn Emergency Surgery offers in-house, attending surgeon coverage 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Common surgical issues treated include:
- Appendicitis
- Bowel and colon obstructions
- Incarcerated hernia
- Necrotizing soft tissue infections
Emergency Surgery Services
At Penn medicine, our highly skilled general surgeons specialize in the emergency process in ways that are not typically found at other medical centers. Many of our patients are transferred from other hospitals that do not have the training or resources to perform complicated emergency surgical procedures. Our surgeons have the ability to make rapid decisions and the expertise to take on highly complex cases that may require working with less than ideal body tissue. Once immediate medical problems are solved, the clinical teams follow up with patients to ensure a process of seamless, coordinated care and long-term assistance to recovery. Our emergency surgery program brings together experts across multiple specialties, including general surgery, cardiothoracic surgery, vascular surgery, surgical oncology and many more.
Emergency Surgery services include:
- 24/7 attending board-certified surgeons
- Dedicated residents on call 24/7, 365 days a year
- NPs and PAs available to assist with service
- Rapid diagnosis and rapid access to operating rooms
- 24/7 follow-up care
Emergency Surgery Follow-Up Outpatient Care
Penn Emergency Surgery offers a complete, full service, outpatient follow-up clinic overseen by Benjamin, Braslow, MD, FACS, at the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine (PCAM). The Emergency Surgery outpatient services are separate from the Trauma Unit outpatient follow-up services.
Patients are seen for all types of surgical follow-up care and any other individual needs that should be addressed. The clinic offers:
- Office hours twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday
- Tuesday: Perelman Center, 4th Floor West Pavilion
- Thursday: Perelman Center, 2nd Floor West Pavilion
- Long-term follow-up care
- Chronic wound care
- Nutritional counseling
- Treatment and care for any physiologic compromises a patient may be experiencing