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General Surgery for MBBS: Notes, PYQs and Viva

General Surgery is one of the four Final Year subjects in the NMC Competency Based Medical Education (CBME) programme, examined in the Phase 3 Part 2 professional examination alongside General Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynaecology (OBG), and Paediatrics. The subject covers surgical principles and clinical management of disease across the gastrointestinal tract, hepatobiliary system, breast, thyroid, vascular system, urology, orthopaedics, burns, and trauma. GeckoMed provides General Surgery PYQs and important question lists across all seven target universities, along with condition-wise topic guides for the highest-yield surgical conditions.

Open General Surgery resources in the GeckoMed app.

What Is General Surgery in MBBS?

General Surgery in the MBBS Final Year covers the clinical evaluation and surgical management of conditions presenting across multiple body systems. The syllabus trains students to take a surgical history, examine swellings and lumps systematically, and outline a management plan including indications for surgical intervention — the core competency assessed in the Final Year practical examination.

The syllabus spans several domains. Principles of surgery covers wound healing, shock and fluid management, surgical infections, sterilisation and disinfection, and blood transfusion — foundational topics that appear frequently in short-answer questions. Gastrointestinal surgery covers the surgical complications of peptic ulcer disease (perforation, haemorrhage, pyloric stenosis), intestinal obstruction (mechanical versus functional, closed-loop), appendicitis, peritonitis, colorectal carcinoma, and anorectal conditions including haemorrhoids, fistula-in-ano, and fissure. Hernia — inguinal (direct versus indirect), femoral, umbilical, incisional, and hiatal — is one of the most consistently tested topics in GS papers across all universities.

Hepatobiliary surgery covers obstructive jaundice (differential diagnosis, workup, surgical versus medical), gallstones and cholecystitis (acute, chronic, complications), liver abscess, and portal hypertension and its complications. Breast surgery covers the evaluation of a breast lump, fibroadenoma, carcinoma of the breast (TNM staging, modified radical mastectomy, breast-conserving surgery, hormone receptor status), and mastitis. Thyroid surgery covers the approach to a thyroid swelling, goitre classification, hyperthyroidism management, and thyroid malignancy.

Vascular surgery covers varicose veins (clinical examination, Trendelenburg test, management), deep vein thrombosis, peripheral arterial disease, and Raynaud's phenomenon. Urology covers benign prostatic hyperplasia, urinary retention, haematuria workup, urolithiasis, and renal tumours. Orthopaedics in the surgery paper covers fractures (principles of management, union versus non-union, specific fractures including Colles and femoral neck), compound fractures, and orthopaedic infections. Burns covers Rule of Nines for total body surface area estimation, first- versus second- versus third-degree classification, and fluid resuscitation principles. Trauma covers the primary survey approach, head injury assessment, and abdominal trauma management.

The General Surgery practical examination includes a long-case clinical component, short-case assessment of specific lumps and swellings (hernia, thyroid, breast, lymph node), instrument identification, and a viva component.


General Surgery Question Papers by University

GeckoMed provides General Surgery question papers across all seven target universities. Tier-1 universities (RGUHS, KNRUHS, TNMGRMU) include papers from 2025, 2024, 2023, and 2021. Non-Tier-1 universities (NTRUHS, WBUHS, KUHS, RUHS) include papers from 2025, 2024, and 2023.

Browse the national surgery question archive: MBBS Surgery Question Papers


General Surgery Important Questions

Important question lists for General Surgery are compiled from PYQ frequency analysis across all seven universities. These pages highlight the conditions and question types that recur most across paper years — useful for prioritising revision in the weeks before the Final Year professional exam.

General Surgery Notes and Study Material

GeckoMed's medical topics library covers the highest-yield surgical conditions across the Final Year syllabus. Each condition guide covers definition, aetiology, pathophysiology, clinical features, investigations, management, and complications — structured to support both written paper answers and short-case clinical presentations:

Abdominal and GI Surgery

Appendicitis | Intestinal Obstruction | Peptic Ulcer

Hepatobiliary

Cholecystitis | Jaundice

Breast

Breast Cancer

Orthopaedics and Trauma

Fracture Healing | Colles Fracture

Also useful for General Surgery revision:

  • MBBS Drug Dosing Reference — Pre-operative antibiotic prophylaxis, DVT prophylaxis agents, analgesic dosing, and post-operative drug management framed for exam-level recall
  • How to Pass MBBS Final Year — Study strategy for all four Final Year subjects including General Surgery

Subject-level General Surgery notes are available in the GeckoMed app. Website notes pages will be added as they publish.


General Surgery Viva and Practical Preparation

The General Surgery Final Year practical examination tests clinical examination skills more directly than any other subject in the programme. Short-case stations require students to examine a specific lump or swelling — hernia, thyroid swelling, breast lump, lymph node — and present findings with a diagnosis and management plan to the examiner on the spot. Instrument identification stations test recognition of common surgical instruments and their indications.

The viva questions in General Surgery are typically applied: describe the operation for this condition, what is the blood supply of this structure, what are the complications of this procedure, how would you manage this presentation. Students who have revised conditions as complete clinical entities (aetiology through to complications) perform better than those who have only covered theory.

General Surgery viva questions and a short-case preparation guide are available in the GeckoMed app. A dedicated viva page for General Surgery will be added to the Viva section when published.

For practical short-case revision, the condition guides for Appendicitis, Intestinal Obstruction, Cholecystitis, and Breast Cancer are structured with clinical examination findings and management sections written to the depth expected in Final Year short-case presentations.


Frequently Asked Questions

How many papers does General Surgery have in Final Year MBBS?

General Surgery is assessed in a single theory paper and a separate clinical practical examination in the Phase 3 Part 2 Final Year professional examination. The practical includes a long case, short-case assessments of lumps and swellings, instrument identification, and a viva. General Surgery is examined in the same sitting as the other Final Year subjects at most universities.

What are the most important topics in General Surgery for MBBS university exams?

Based on PYQ patterns across all seven GeckoMed universities, the consistently high-yield topics are: hernia (types, surgical anatomy, complications, repair techniques), carcinoma of the breast (staging, management options), intestinal obstruction (classification, management), obstructive jaundice (causes, workup, surgical management), appendicitis (clinical features, Alvarado score, complications), burns (classification, Rule of Nines, fluid resuscitation), and thyroid swelling evaluation. Wound healing and shock principles are also high-yield short-answer topics across most universities.

How does General Surgery differ from General Medicine in exam preparation?

General Surgery places greater weight on clinical examination findings, surgical anatomy, operative indications, and instrument identification than General Medicine does. Written paper questions in surgery are more likely to ask about approach, anatomy, and operation than pathophysiology. The short-case practical in surgery requires hands-on examination of patients with surgical conditions, which makes clinical posting experience — and revision of examination technique — more important than in medicine.

Does General Surgery overlap with other MBBS subjects?

Yes, across multiple subjects. Surgical anatomy (hernia orifices, blood supply of the gut, nerve territories) overlaps with Phase 1 Anatomy. Pathology of tumours, wound healing, and inflammatory conditions overlaps with Phase 2 Pathology. Medical management of GI and hepatobiliary disease overlaps with General Medicine in Final Year.

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