J.Jpn. Surg. Soc.. 127(4): 415-421, 2026

---

Feature topic

SOCIAL ROLE OF EMERGENCY GENERAL SURGERY

Emergency general surgery (EGS) is a clinical field that provides rapid diagnosis and surgical intervention for nontraumatic acute surgical conditions, including gastrointestinal perforation, intestinal ischemia, acute cholecystitis, and bowel obstruction. As a “last line of defense” for life-threatening conditions, EGS plays a crucial social role. Compared with elective surgery, EGS is associated with higher mortality and complication rates, and its importance will continue to increase in aging societies, particularly because older and frail patients are at greater risk of poor outcomes. Beyond its direct life-saving function, EGS contributes to broader healthcare goals, including improvement of surgical quality, maintenance of regional emergency-care systems, development of sustainable practice models under work-style reform, reduction of medical and social costs, and preservation of quality of life and activities of daily living in older patients. While Western countries have advanced the acute-care surgery (ACS) model and established national quality indicators with measurable benefits, development in Japan remains incomplete. Future efforts should focus on establishing EGS-specific quality metrics, expanding dedicated or semi-dedicated care systems, training specialized personnel, and strengthening regional collaboration to build a Japanese model of EGS/ACS suited to the domestic healthcare system.

---

---

To read the PDF file you will need Adobe Reader installed on your computer.