Gastrointestinal surgery, can be divided into upper GI surgery and lower GI surgery.

Subtypes
Upper gastrointestinal
Upper gastrointestinal surgery, often referred to as upper GI surgery, refers to a practise of surgery that focuses on the upper parts of the gastrointestinal tract. There are many operations relevant to the upper gastrointestinal tract that are best done only by those who keep constant practise, owing to their complexity. Consequently, a general surgeon may specialise in 'upper GI' by attempting to maintain currency in those skills.

Upper GI surgeons would have an interest in, and may exclusively perform, the following operations:

• Pancreaticoduodenectomy
• Esophagectomy
• Liver resection

Lower gastrointestinal
Lower gastrointestinal surgery includes colorectal surgery as well as surgery of the small intestine.

Academically, it refers to a sub-specialisation of medical practise whereby a general surgeon focuses on the lower gastrointestinal tract.

A lower GI surgeon might specialise in the following operations:

Colectomy
Low or ultralow resections for rectal cancer, etc.