NEET PG Rapid Revision
Surgery One-Liners for NEET PG: Rapid Revision
High-yield surgery one-liners for NEET PG covering general surgery, GI surgery, urology, endocrine surgery and surgical oncology.
MedNext Academy | 6 min read
Surgery One-Liners for NEET PG: Rapid Revision
High-yield surgery one-liners for NEET PG covering general surgery, GI surgery, urology, endocrine surgery and surgical oncology.
Surgery: rapid revision one-liners for NEET PG
Surgery in NEET PG covers general surgical principles, gastrointestinal surgery, hepatobiliary surgery, breast surgery, urology, endocrine surgery and surgical oncology. Questions are scenario-based, testing your ability to identify the condition and choose the correct management.
These one-liners focus on the classic presentations, investigation of choice and definitive management that are most frequently tested.
Must-know one-liners
- Most common type of thyroid cancer is papillary carcinoma; it has the best prognosis and spreads via lymphatics
- Follicular thyroid carcinoma spreads via haematogenous route (to bone and lungs)
- Medullary thyroid carcinoma arises from parafollicular C cells; produces calcitonin; associated with MEN 2A and 2B
- MEN 1 (Wermer syndrome): parathyroid hyperplasia + pituitary adenoma + pancreatic tumours (the 3 Ps)
- MEN 2A (Sipple syndrome): medullary thyroid carcinoma + phaeochromocytoma + parathyroid hyperplasia
- MEN 2B: medullary thyroid carcinoma + phaeochromocytoma + mucosal neuromas + marfanoid habitus
- Zollinger-Ellison syndrome: gastrin-secreting tumour (gastrinoma) causing recurrent peptic ulcers; most commonly located in the duodenum (gastrinoma triangle)
- Insulinoma is the most common functioning islet cell tumour; Whipple triad: symptoms of hypoglycaemia + low blood glucose + relief with glucose
- Acute appendicitis: most common surgical emergency; initial periumbilical pain migrating to RIF (visceral to somatic)
- Alvarado score (MANTRELS) is used for clinical diagnosis of acute appendicitis
- Meckel diverticulum: rule of 2s -- 2% prevalence, 2 feet from ileocaecal valve, 2 inches long, 2 types of ectopic tissue (gastric, pancreatic), presents by age 2
- Intussusception in children: sausage-shaped mass, red currant jelly stool, target sign on ultrasound; air/barium enema for reduction
- Hirschsprung disease: absence of ganglion cells in Meissner and Auerbach plexuses; suction rectal biopsy is diagnostic
- Pyloric stenosis in infants: non-bilious projectile vomiting, olive-shaped mass; hypochloraemic hypokalaemic metabolic alkalosis; Ramstedt pyloromyotomy
- Achalasia cardia: absence of peristalsis and failure of LES relaxation; bird-beak sign on barium swallow; manometry is the gold standard
- Barrett oesophagus: intestinal metaplasia of the lower oesophagus (squamous to columnar); premalignant for oesophageal adenocarcinoma
- Carcinoma oesophagus: squamous cell carcinoma in upper/middle third; adenocarcinoma in lower third (associated with Barrett)
- Peptic ulcer: duodenal ulcer is more common than gastric ulcer; H. pylori is the most common cause; anterior DU perforates, posterior DU bleeds (GDA)
- Triple test for H. pylori eradication: PPI + clarithromycin + amoxicillin (or metronidazole) for 14 days
- Colorectal cancer: second most common cancer worldwide; left-sided presents with obstruction, right-sided with iron deficiency anaemia
- Duke staging of colorectal cancer: A (confined to bowel wall), B (through bowel wall), C (lymph node involvement), D (distant metastasis)
- CEA (carcinoembryonic antigen) is used for monitoring recurrence of colorectal cancer, not for screening
- Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP): hundreds of adenomatous polyps; APC gene mutation on chromosome 5; 100% risk of colorectal cancer without colectomy
- Lynch syndrome (HNPCC): autosomal dominant; mismatch repair gene mutations; right-sided colon cancer; Amsterdam criteria for diagnosis
- Acute pancreatitis: raised serum lipase (more specific than amylase); Ranson criteria and APACHE II for severity assessment
- Grey Turner sign (flank ecchymosis) and Cullen sign (periumbilical ecchymosis) indicate haemorrhagic pancreatitis
- Gallstones: 5 Fs -- Female, Fat, Forty, Fertile, Fair; cholesterol stones are the most common type
- Courvoisier law: a palpable non-tender gallbladder with painless obstructive jaundice is unlikely to be due to gallstones (think periampullary carcinoma)
- Charcot triad (fever, jaundice, RUQ pain) indicates ascending cholangitis; Reynolds pentad adds hypotension and confusion (suppurative cholangitis)
- Breast cancer: most common cancer in women; most common in upper outer quadrant; FNAC or core biopsy for tissue diagnosis
- Triple assessment for breast lump: clinical examination + imaging (mammography/ultrasound) + tissue diagnosis (FNAC/core biopsy)
- Fibroadenoma: most common benign breast tumour in young women; firm, mobile (breast mouse); excision if > 3 cm or growing
- Phyllodes tumour: large, rapidly growing breast tumour; may be benign, borderline or malignant; wide local excision (not enucleation)
- Paget disease of the nipple: eczematous change of the nipple associated with underlying ductal carcinoma in situ or invasive carcinoma
- Sentinel lymph node biopsy has replaced routine axillary dissection for staging breast cancer
- Renal cell carcinoma: most common renal malignancy in adults; classic triad of haematuria, flank pain and abdominal mass (present in only 10%)
- Wilms tumour (nephroblastoma): most common renal malignancy in children; associated with WAGR syndrome, Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome
- Testicular tumour: seminoma is the most common; elevated AFP = non-seminomatous germ cell tumour; elevated beta-hCG = seminoma or choriocarcinoma
- Undescended testis (cryptorchidism) increases the risk of testicular malignancy; orchidopexy should be done by 1 year of age
- BPH: benign prostatic hyperplasia affects the transitional zone; prostate cancer affects the peripheral zone
- PSA (prostate-specific antigen) is organ-specific, not cancer-specific; elevated in BPH, prostatitis and prostate cancer
- Varicocele: bag of worms in the scrotum; predominantly left-sided (90%) due to left testicular vein draining into the left renal vein
- Hydrocele: transillumination positive; primary (idiopathic) vs secondary (infection, tumour, trauma)
- Femoral hernia passes through the femoral canal below and lateral to the pubic tubercle; more common in women; highest risk of strangulation
- Inguinal hernia: indirect is the most common type in all age groups and both sexes; direct hernia is rare in women
- Arterial ulcer is painful, punched-out, at pressure points with absent pulses; venous ulcer is painless, irregular margins, at the medial malleolus (gaiter area)
- Raynaud phenomenon: episodic digital ischaemia (white-blue-red colour changes); primary (Raynaud disease) has no underlying cause
- Abdominal aortic aneurysm: most are infrarenal; diameter > 5.5 cm is the usual threshold for elective repair
- Peripheral arterial disease: ankle-brachial index (ABI) < 0.9 indicates significant disease; claudication distance is the clinical indicator of severity
- Burns: rule of nines for surface area estimation; Parkland formula (4 mL x %TBSA x weight in kg) for fluid resuscitation in first 24 hours; half in first 8 hours
How to use these one-liners
Surgery one-liners are best revised by clinical system. Start with GI surgery (the single largest block), then move to breast, endocrine, urology and vascular surgery. For each condition, recall the classic presentation, investigation of choice and definitive management.
Surgical questions often hinge on recognising the clinical scenario and choosing between conservative management and operative intervention. Pay attention to the indications for surgery in each condition.
Key mnemonics
Meckel diverticulum -- rule of 2s: 2% prevalence, 2 feet from ileocaecal valve, 2 inches long, 2 types of ectopic tissue, age 2.
MEN syndromes: MEN 1 = 3 Ps (Parathyroid, Pituitary, Pancreas); MEN 2A = MTC + Pheo + Parathyroid; MEN 2B = MTC + Pheo + Mucosal neuromas + Marfanoid.
Gallstones = 5 Fs: Female, Fat, Forty, Fertile, Fair.
Revision schedule
Surgery is a large subject. Revise 2-3 systems per session on a 3-day cycle. GI surgery and breast surgery deserve the most time. In the final 2 weeks, do a complete run-through every 3 days. Combine these one-liners with image-based questions (X-rays, CT findings) for better clinical correlation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many surgery questions appear in NEET PG?
Typically 20-30 questions. GI surgery, breast, thyroid, urology and surgical emergencies are the most commonly tested areas.
Should I study Bailey and Love cover to cover?
For NEET PG, a focused approach using SRB or Manipal manual is more efficient. Use Bailey for reference when you need depth on specific topics. One-liners help you retain the key facts across all systems.
Are imaging-based questions common in surgery?
Yes, increasingly so. Be able to recognise appendicular perforation on CT, pneumoperitoneum on erect X-ray, barium swallow findings in achalasia/carcinoma and ultrasound findings in cholecystitis.
How do I handle surgical emergencies in the exam?
Know the initial management protocol for each emergency: appendicitis, perforation, intestinal obstruction, strangulated hernia, testicular torsion, ruptured AAA. The question usually tests whether you can identify the condition and choose the correct immediate action.
Inside MedNext for this topic
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