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General surgery · specialist-authored · every answer cited

Cholecystitis, appendicitis, obstruction — a colleague who cites every call.

Clinical decision support that reasons like a general surgeon: grade the acute abdomen, weigh operate-versus-observe, time the operation — with the decision rule and exactly what would change it. Built for verified surgeons.

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Watch it think — in general surgery.

Two real general-surgery questions, each reasoned the way HeyHippocrates answers: the skills fire, the answer is cited, the decision rule is explicit, and what's missing is flagged. Scroll to each.

HeyHippocratesGeneral Surgery · Biliary

45-year-old, right-upper-quadrant pain, a positive Murphy sign, fever, WBC 15, ultrasound shows gallstones with a thickened wall — management?

Reasoninggrade it guideline lookup red-flag check citation-verify

This meets acute cholecystitis by the Tokyo Guidelines (local signs, systemic inflammation, imaging). Start IV fluids and antibiotics, and plan early laparoscopic cholecystectomy — within about 72 hours to a week — which lowers complications versus delayed surgery. Grade the severity; organ dysfunction (Grade III) shifts toward gallbladder drainage and stabilization first.

Tokyo Guidelines early cholecystectomy verified

Decision ruleAcute cholecystitis (Grade I–II) → antibiotics + early laparoscopic cholecystectomy; Grade III (organ dysfunction) → resuscitate, drain, delay surgery.

Not established from this alone — severity grade, comorbidity, bilirubin/duct status and fitness for surgery change the plan.

Grounded in champion-authored, cited knowledge — validated by champion physicians.
HeyHippocratesGeneral Surgery · Appendicitis

24-year-old, migratory right-lower-quadrant pain, anorexia, fever, rebound tenderness, WBC 14 — Alvarado and next step?

Reasoningscore it guideline lookup red-flag check citation-verify

That maps to an Alvarado of about 8 — high probability of appendicitis. Confirm with imaging (ultrasound first in a young patient, CT if inconclusive), start fluids and antibiotics, and plan appendectomy. Non-operative antibiotic management is an option only for selected uncomplicated cases after shared decision-making; a fecalith or perforation favors surgery.

Alvarado appendectomy verified

Decision ruleAlvarado ≥7 → high probability, image to confirm and operate; 5–6 → imaging; ≤4 → observe; antibiotics-first only for selected uncomplicated cases.

Not established from this alone — imaging, the exact score, perforation or a fecalith and comorbidity change the plan.

Grounded in champion-authored, cited knowledge — validated by champion physicians.

Illustrative simulations. The physician always decides.

The answers surgeons actually look up.

The exact questions your field searches for — answered in the format the knowledge base speaks: the answer, the decision rule, what's missing, and the source.

Acute cholecystitis — how do I grade it and time the cholecystectomy?

The Tokyo Guidelines diagnose acute cholecystitis from local signs (a positive Murphy sign, right-upper-quadrant pain), systemic inflammation (fever, raised white count/CRP) and imaging. Grade I is mild, Grade II moderate with marked local inflammation, and Grade III severe with organ dysfunction. For Grade I–II, early laparoscopic cholecystectomy (within about a week) is preferred; Grade III is resuscitated and often drained first.Tokyo Guidelines

Decision ruleDiagnose by local + systemic + imaging; Grade I–II → early laparoscopic cholecystectomy; Grade III → resuscitate, drainage, interval surgery.

Missing data: the severity grade, bile-duct status, comorbidity and operative fitness change the timing.

Cited, specialist-reviewed — not a generic web summary.

Suspected appendicitis — the Alvarado score and imaging?

Alvarado sums migratory pain, anorexia, nausea, right-lower-quadrant tenderness, rebound, fever, leukocytosis and a left shift. A score of 7–10 is high probability, 5–6 is intermediate (image), and 0–4 is low. Ultrasound is first-line in young and pregnant patients; CT resolves inconclusive cases. Appendectomy is standard; antibiotics-first is reserved for selected uncomplicated appendicitis.Alvarado score

Decision ruleAlvarado ≥7 → image and operate; 5–6 → imaging; ≤4 → observe; antibiotics-first only for selected uncomplicated cases.

Missing data: imaging findings, perforation, a fecalith and the patient profile refine the decision.

Cited, specialist-reviewed — not a generic web summary.

Small-bowel obstruction — operate or manage conservatively?

Most adhesive small-bowel obstruction without strangulation is trialled non-operatively: nasogastric decompression, fluids and correction of electrolytes, with a water-soluble contrast study that both predicts resolution and can be therapeutic. Operate for signs of strangulation or a closed loop — ongoing pain, peritonitis, rising lactate, or CT signs of ischemia — and for failure to resolve within roughly 48–72 hours.guideline synthesis

Decision ruleAdhesive SBO without strangulation → non-operative trial + water-soluble contrast; strangulation / closed loop / failure → surgery.

Missing data: the cause, strangulation signs, ischemia on CT and the response to decompression change the decision.

Cited, specialist-reviewed — not a generic web summary.

The acute abdomen — the diagnostic approach?

Resuscitate in parallel with assessment. A focused history and exam localize the pain and look for peritonitis; labs and imaging (usually CT) identify the source and separate surgical from non-surgical causes. Generalized peritonitis, perforation, ischemia or an unstable patient go to the operating room; a contained or non-surgical process is managed medically with close reassessment.guideline synthesis

Decision ruleResuscitate → localize + look for peritonitis → labs/CT → peritonitis/perforation/ischemia/instability → operate; otherwise treat and reassess.

Missing data: hemodynamics, peritoneal signs, imaging and the trajectory drive the operative decision.

Cited, specialist-reviewed — not a generic web summary.

What it knows in general surgery

Your whole practice, one specialist brain — grounded in champion-authored, cited knowledge.

Biliary & pancreaticCholecystitis and cholelithiasis, choledocholithiasis and pancreatitis — grading and timing.
Acute abdomenAppendicitis, perforation, ischemia and the peritonitis decision.
Bowel obstructionAdhesive and mechanical obstruction, closed-loop and strangulation, operate-versus-observe.
HerniaInguinal, ventral and incarcerated hernia — repair, mesh and the emergency.
Surgical oncology & endocrineBreast, thyroid, colorectal and the multidisciplinary plan.
Trauma & critical surgeryDamage control, the bleeding patient and the surgical site infection.
BasicThe full general-surgery scope

A generalist surgical colleague across biliary, the acute abdomen, obstruction, hernia and trauma — cited, non-directive, always with the decision rule.

ProSub-specialty depth

Deep specialist agents for hepatobiliary, colorectal, surgical oncology and trauma & acute-care surgery — each its own soul and knowledge base — plus your own uploaded materials.

Why not just use OpenEvidence or ChatGPT?

In the acute abdomen the margin is thin. Only one of these reasons like a surgical colleague whose every claim you can trace.

 
HeyHippocrates
OpenEvidence
ChatGPT
Surgical reasoning & scores (Alvarado, Tokyo Guidelines)
Built in
Generalist
Generalist
Grounded in champion-authored, cited knowledge
Validated
Literature
Open web
States the decision rule + what's missing
Always
Sometimes
Rarely
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Questions surgeons ask

It reasons in the tools you use — the Alvarado score, the Tokyo Guidelines and the acute-abdomen exam — and always shows the reasoning, the decision rule and what would change it. The decision always stays your call.

Both. Residents use it to pressure-test a plan and learn the decision rule; attendings use it as a fast, cited second opinion on call and before the operating room. Access is gated to verified physicians.

Hepatobiliary, colorectal, surgical oncology and trauma & acute care each have their own deep specialist agent on the Pro plan, on top of the full general-surgery scope on Basic.

No. It is physician-facing clinical decision support — a cited thinking partner. It does not diagnose, does not treat, and gives no patient-facing advice. The decision always stays with you.

Every answer is grounded only in champion-authored, cited surgical knowledge — traceable, not hallucinated — and always states the decision rule plus what data is missing, instead of a confident guess.