In this chapter the basic surgeon’s knot will be explained. The reader will be guided using step-by-step instructions, accompanied by photographs, on how to create a strong and secure surgeon’s knot using both a hand tie and instrument tie technique.

The mastery of these techniques will allow the reader to progress to more complex tasks and will enable them to demonstrate their skill during surgical placements.

This chapter will review some of the most commonly used local anaesthetic agents, discussing their pharmacokinetics and usages. There will be discussion on the safe and effective use of adrenaline containing local anaesthetic compounds. The chapter will then move on to cover safe techniques for infiltrating local anaesthesia and then an overview of the potential side effects of local anaesthesia and how to manage these.

In this chapter various techniques for suturing will be explained. The chapter will start with an explanation of wound healing before discussing the principles of wound management. Suturing will be described in a stepwise fashion with photographic images of the techniques being carried out on porcine tissue to simulate real surgery.

Through these instructions it is expected that the reader will be able to replicate these techniques and can continue to refer to this text as needed.

This chapter will start with the simple interrupted suture and progress to cover more complex techniques and explain their usage, advantages and disadvantages. The chapter ends with stepwise instructions for carrying out a flexor tendon repair.

In this chapter the principles of debridement will be explored, looking first at some of the history behind surgical debridement and its indications. The chapter will then go on to discuss the key safety and technical aspects of debriding a simple wound before moving on to exploring a worked pictorial example.

In this chapter the pathogenesis of cysts and their presentation will be discussed. The chapter will then move on to discuss the process of assessing, marking and surgically excising cystic lesions. This will be covered with a pictorial example looking at the excision of a simulated cyst from porcine tissue.