Introduction:

Echography is nowadays considered an established imaging modality in medicine and with multiple benefits, as well as widely used in surgical practice. Surgeons are trained in focused assessment with echography for trauma. However, they are becoming increasingly skilled in performing echography scans, both at the point of care and in the transoperative setting for other surgical presentations.

Objective:

To expose the use of echography performed by the general surgeon directly on the surgical patient.

Methods:

A bibliographic review of the subject was carried out in the PubMed, BVS-BIREME and Cochrane databases. All types of studies published from January 1958 to January 2022, to which access was available, were considered in the search. The languages used in the search were Spanish and English.

Development:

The echography scan performed by the general surgeon is increasingly advocated worldwide, not only for trauma but also for acute intraabdominal conditions, as well as to increase safety during the transoperative period.

Conclusions:

Echography has many advantages because it is a safe, fast, noninvasive, portable and repeatable technique that provides real-time dynamic images relevant to patient management.

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