<sod>As a general rule, a procedure is 88797considered surgical when it involves cutting of a patient's tissues or closure of a previously sustained wound.  Other procedures that do not necessarily fall under this rubric, such as [[angioplasty]] or [[endoscopy]], may be considered surgery if they involve "common" surgical procedure or settings, such as use of a sterile environment, [[anesthesia]], [[antiseptic]] conditions, typical [[surgical instruments]], and [[suturing]] or [[Surgical staple|stapling]].  All forms of surgery are considered invasive procedures; so-called "noninvasive surgery" usually refers to an excision that does not penetrate the structure being excised (e.g. laser ablation of the cornea) or to a radiosurgical procedure (e.g. irradiation of a tumor).<eod>
<sod>As a general rule, a procedure is considered surgical when it involves cutting of a patient's tissues or closure of a previously sustained wound.  Other procedures that do not necessarily fall under this rubric, such as [[angioplasty]] or [[endoscopy]], may be considered surgery if they involve "common" surgical procedure or settings, such as use of a sterile environment, [[anesthesia]], [[antiseptic]] conditions, typical [[surgical instruments]], and [[suturing]] or [[Surgical staple|stapling]].  All forms of surgery are considered invasive procedures; so-called "noninvasive surgery" usually refers to an excision that does not penetrate the structure being excised (e.g. laser ablation of the cornea) or to a radiosurgical procedure (e.g. irradiation of a tumor).<eod>