Surgeries related to cancer treatment is performed by cancer surgery specialists who are known as oncologists. However, General Surgeons who have completed the required training to specialize in oncology after completing their specialization in surgery can perform cancer surgery.

The difference between a General Surgeon and specialist surgeon lies in the training acquired. Specialists surgeons, after completing the required training to become a General Surgeon, go through additional training to be legally called specialist surgeons.

General Surgeons are surgery specialists who can perform surgery for common as well as complex medical conditions related to the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, pancreas, and bile ducts, and often the thyroid gland.

General Surgeons are restricted to abdomen-related surgeries. They can’t perform dental surgery even if they are qualified. Dental surgeries can be performed only by a dental surgeon or oral & maxillofacial surgeon.

A medical graduate is known as a physician, who later has to apply for a surgical residency program to become a General Surgeon. The duration of surgical residency programs varies depending on the country where the applicant is applying.