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Surgery medical question bank

Practise every surgery topic with explained SBAs.

Recall Engine has 2,000+ surgery questions across 100+ topics in 10+ body systems. Every question explains each option.

questions
2,000+
topics
100+
topic notes
90+
clinical skills guides
10+
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Surgery by body system

Surgery has 100+ topics in 10+ body systems. Each section shows how many questions it has and every topic it covers.

Vascular surgery

350+ questions across 20+ topics. It also has 20+ topic notes and 5 clinical skills guides.

  • Abdominal vascular emergencies
  • Aneurysms and pseudoaneurysms
  • Aortic dissection
  • Arterial vascular surgery
  • Cardiovascular examination
  • Cardiovascular history
  • Carotid, renal, and mesenteric arterial disease
  • Chronic limb swelling and lymphoedema
  • Chronic limb-threatening ischaemia
  • Leg ulcers: venous, arterial, and neuropathic
  • Lower limb amputation
  • Peripheral vascular history
  • Varicose vein examination
  • Varicose veins examination
  • Varicose veins: examination
  • Vascular anatomy of the lower limb
  • Vascular examination
  • Vascular history
  • Vascular history taking
  • Venous and lymphatic surgical problems

Thoracic surgery

40+ questions across 1 topic. It also has 1 topic note.

  • Thoracic trauma

GI and hepatobiliary surgery

800+ questions across 30+ topics. It also has 30+ topic notes and 1 clinical skills guide.

  • Abdominal sepsis: appendicitis and diverticulitis
  • Abdominal wall hernia examination
  • Acute abdomen and acute scrotum in children
  • Acute pancreatitis: diagnosis, cause, and severity
  • Acute pancreatitis: early care and biliary management
  • Acute pancreatitis: severity scores and systemic complications
  • Altered bowel habit and colorectal cancer recognition
  • Anal and perianal conditions
  • Bariatric surgery: selection and complications
  • Bilio-pancreatic diseases
  • Chronic pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, and liver cysts
  • Chronic pancreatitis: pain, surgery, and pseudocysts
  • Colorectal cancer: staging and surgery
  • Complicated gallstone disease: surgical management
  • Complicated peptic ulcer: perforation, obstruction, and surgery
  • Gallstones, cholangitis, and bile duct injury
  • Groin hernias
  • History taking in surgery
  • Incisional hernia: assessment and repair planning
  • Lower GI bleeding: causes, localisation, and surgery
  • Management of colorectal malignancy
  • Non-septic anorectal diseases
  • Obstructive jaundice: benign versus malignant work-up
  • Oesophageal and gastric cancer: operations and palliation
  • Oesophageal and gastric cancer: staging and treatment
  • Oesophageal dysphagia and achalasia
  • Oesophageal perforation, foreign bodies, and caustic injury
  • Pancreatic cancer: diagnosis, staging, and resectability
  • Pancreatic cancer: precursors, markers, and the Whipple operation
  • Pancreatic fluid collections
  • Pelvic floor pathology: rectal prolapse
  • Right upper quadrant pain and biliary anatomy
  • Surgery of the appendix
  • Surgical emergencies: acute abdomen
  • Upper GI bleeding: lesions and rescue care

Urology

150+ questions across 10+ topics. It also has 9 topic notes and 1 clinical skills guide.

  • Benign prostatic hyperplasia and male LUTS
  • Bladder cancer and visible haematuria
  • Bladder control and neurogenic bladder
  • Obstructive uropathy
  • Penile cancer and premalignant lesions
  • Prostate cancer
  • Testicular tumours: diagnosis, staging, and treatment
  • Urinary tract stones
  • Urological history
  • Urological symptoms and investigations

Endocrine surgery

90+ questions across 3 topics. It also has 3 topic notes.

  • Head and neck: parathyroid
  • Head and neck: thyroid gland
  • Parathyroid surgery: assessment, localisation, and follow-up

Breast surgery

300+ questions across 10+ topics. It also has 9 topic notes and 2 clinical skills guides.

  • Benign breast disease and breast infection
  • Benign palpable breast masses
  • Breast anatomy and physiology
  • Breast and axilla: surgical anatomy
  • Breast cancer: surgery and adjuvant therapy
  • Breast examination
  • Breast history
  • Breast symptoms and mammographic, ultrasound, and MRI signs
  • Male infertility and hypogonadism
  • Malignant breast disease
  • Screen-detected breast lesions: assessment and DCIS

Plastic surgery and burns

250+ questions across 9 topics. It also has 8 topic notes and 2 clinical skills guides.

  • Burns: assessment, resuscitation, and recovery
  • Lump examination
  • Pilonidal disease
  • Principles of wound dressing
  • Reconstructive surgery: grafts and flaps
  • Skin lumps: diagnosis and referral
  • Surgical wounds: healing and closure
  • Wound care, treatment and management
  • Wounds: healing, assessment, and care

Surgical oncology

50+ questions across 2 topics. It also has 2 topic notes.

  • Splenectomy, splenic trauma, and asplenia
  • Surgical oncology: biopsy, resection, and bone tumours

Surgical infection

50+ questions across 2 topics. It also has 2 topic notes.

  • Organ transplantation: donation, rejection, and immunosuppression
  • Surgical infections: SSI, abscess, and necrotising fasciitis

Perioperative care

250+ questions across 8 topics. It also has 8 topic notes.

  • Fluids and electrolytes
  • Laparoscopic surgery: access and complications
  • Malnutrition in surgical patients: assessment and requirements
  • Perioperative nutrition support: screening, routes, and refeeding
  • Postoperative complications
  • Surgical emergencies: abdominal trauma
  • Theatre practice: asepsis, anaesthesia, and sutures
  • Theatre safety: surgical safety checklist, positioning, and diathermy

Surgery sample questions

These 5 are published surgery questions shown exactly as students see them. Open an answer to see why it is right and why every other option is wrong.

Question 1 · Surgery, Clinical

A 52-year-old woman has had dull right upper quadrant discomfort and bloating for 4 months. She is afebrile with a pulse of 76 per minute. A smooth, soft, non-tender, pear-shaped mass moves with respiration below the right costal margin. White cell count, CRP, bilirubin, and alkaline phosphatase are normal. Ultrasound shows a markedly distended thin-walled gallbladder with clear contents, a stone impacted in the neck, and a 5 mm bile duct. Which management is most appropriate?

  1. A. Reassurance with no follow-up
  2. B. Ursodeoxycholic acid to dissolve the stone
  3. C. Endoscopic clearance of the bile duct
  4. D. Elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy
  5. E. Percutaneous cholecystostomy with antibiotics
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: D. Elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy

A large, soft, non-tender palpable gallbladder in an afebrile patient, with clear contents behind a stone impacted in the neck, is a mucocele (hydrops): obstruction without infection, with the gallbladder distended by mucus. It causes dull pain and dyspepsia and can become infected or perforate, so the definitive treatment is cholecystectomy, done laparoscopically and electively because she is well. Normal markers rule against empyema, and the normal duct and liver tests rule out duct stones.

Why the other options are wrong

  • A. Reassurance with no follow-up: An obstructed, distended gallbladder causing symptoms is not a silent stone; it can become infected or perforate.
  • B. Ursodeoxycholic acid to dissolve the stone: Bile acid therapy needs a functioning gallbladder with small cholesterol stones; it cannot clear a stone impacted in the neck.
  • C. Endoscopic clearance of the bile duct: Duct clearance treats common bile duct stones; her duct is 5 mm with normal liver tests, and the problem is in the gallbladder neck.
  • E. Percutaneous cholecystostomy with antibiotics: Drainage treats an infected gallbladder in a patient too unwell for surgery; she is afebrile with normal inflammatory markers.

Key point: A soft, non-tender, distended gallbladder with clear contents behind an impacted neck stone in a well patient is a mucocele; treat it with elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

References

Question 2 · Surgery, Clinical

Two patients are assessed. One has haematuria and needs the lower urinary tract seen directly with biopsy of any lesion. The other has renal trauma. Which pair of investigations suits them, in that order?

  1. A. Uroflowmetry and renography
  2. B. Cystourethrography and CT
  3. C. Cystourethroscopy and CT
  4. D. Cystourethroscopy and renography
  5. E. Cystometry and CT
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: C. Cystourethroscopy and CT

Cystourethroscopy gives direct visualisation of the lower urinary tract and suits haematuria and biopsy of lesions. CT has excellent anatomical detail and is suitable for renal trauma.

Why the other options are wrong

  • A. Uroflowmetry and renography: Uroflowmetry is a urodynamic study that assesses the functions of the lower urinary tract.
  • B. Cystourethrography and CT: Direct visualisation of the lower urinary tract is the advantage of cystourethroscopy.
  • D. Cystourethroscopy and renography: Renography assesses relative renal function, scarring, and obstruction.
  • E. Cystometry and CT: Cystometry is a urodynamic study that assesses the functions of the lower urinary tract.

Key point: Cystourethroscopy suits haematuria with biopsy of lesions, and CT suits renal trauma.

Question 3 · Surgery, Clinical

A 70 kg adult with 40% qualifying burns arrives two hours after injury, having received 600 mL. For this exercise use 4 mL/kg/% TBSA, half within eight hours from injury, with the prior 600 mL counted. What rate would deliver the remaining first-half estimate over the remaining six hours?

  1. A. 933 mL/hour
  2. B. 417 mL/hour
  3. C. 1,250 mL/hour
  4. D. Approximately 833 mL/hour
  5. E. 700 mL/hour
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: D. Approximately 833 mL/hour

The 24-hour estimate is 4 × 70 × 40=11,200 mL. Half is 5,600 mL; subtract 600 mL, then divide 5,000 mL by six hours to obtain about 833 mL/hour. Clinical endpoints determine subsequent adjustment.

Why the other options are wrong

  • A. 933 mL/hour: This divides 5,600 mL by six hours without deducting prior fluid.
  • B. 417 mL/hour: This spreads the remaining 5,000 mL over twelve rather than six hours.
  • C. 1,250 mL/hour: This delivers 5,000 mL over four rather than six hours.
  • E. 700 mL/hour: This divides the entire first-half estimate by eight hours and ignores both elapsed time and the 600 mL already given.

Key point: Combine dose, elapsed injury time and prior fluid in a stated calculation.

References

  • Burns, Merck Manual Professional Edition

Question 4 · Surgery, Clinical

A 46-year-old woman has a clinically benign palpable breast mass. She has no family history of premenopausal breast cancer or other risk factors. Which approach is correct?

  1. A. Mammography and ultrasound before any biopsy
  2. B. MRI of the breast as the first test
  3. C. Aspiration of the mass, then reassessment
  4. D. Core biopsy first, followed by imaging
  5. E. Targeted ultrasound alone, without mammography
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: A. Mammography and ultrasound before any biopsy

In an older woman the initial imaging of a palpable mass includes mammography and ultrasound, done before any attempt at biopsy because post-biopsy changes could distort any further imaging. Sonography differentiates solid from cystic lesions.

Why the other options are wrong

  • B. MRI of the breast as the first test: MRI follows a positive dominant mass on targeted ultrasound in young women.
  • C. Aspiration of the mass, then reassessment: Symptomatic or complex cystic lesions are aspirated.
  • D. Core biopsy first, followed by imaging: Post-biopsy changes could distort any further imaging.
  • E. Targeted ultrasound alone, without mammography: Targeted ultrasound is the initial approach in young women, in whom mammography is non-informative.

Key point: Older women get mammography and ultrasound before any biopsy.

References

Question 5 · Surgery, Clinical

A 34-year-old woman has had progressive enlargement of both legs since puberty, worse after each pregnancy. Both legs are symmetrically enlarged from the hips to the ankles, ending abruptly above slim feet. The fatty tissue is tender and bruises easily, and strict dieting reduced her waist but not her legs. The skin at the base of each second toe pinches normally. Which diagnosis is most likely?

  1. A. Bilateral primary lymphoedema
  2. B. Generalised obesity
  3. C. Oedema from congestive heart failure
  4. D. Myxoedema from hypothyroidism
  5. E. Lipoedema
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: E. Lipoedema

Lipoedema is a symmetrical disorder of fat in the legs, almost always in women, usually starting at puberty or pregnancy. The feet are spared, giving a cuff at the ankles, and the fat is painful to pressure, bruises easily and resists diet and exercise. Stemmer sign is negative because the toe skin is normal. Late disease can add secondary lymphoedema. Management is conservative first, with compression, exercise and weight management; liposuction is considered when that fails.

Why the other options are wrong

  • A. Bilateral primary lymphoedema: Lymphoedema involves the feet and toes with a positive Stemmer sign; her feet are slim and the toe skin pinches normally.
  • B. Generalised obesity: Obesity is generalised and responds to weight loss; her fat is confined to the legs, is tender and resisted dieting.
  • C. Oedema from congestive heart failure: Cardiac oedema pits, involves the feet and comes with a raised jugular venous pressure; her feet are spared.
  • D. Myxoedema from hypothyroidism: Myxoedema gives non-pitting puffiness with facial changes, slow pulse and dry skin, without a fat distribution that spares the feet.

Key point: Lipoedema is bilateral, symmetrical, tender leg fat in women that spares the feet, resists dieting and has a negative Stemmer sign, unlike lymphoedema, which involves the feet.

References

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