Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery for Benign Emergencies: Perforation, Obstruction & Bleeding

Emergency upper gastrointestinal (GI) surgery represents a critical domain within general and gastrointestinal surgery, addressing life-threatening yet potentially curable benign diseases such as perforation, obstruction, and bleeding. Despite advances in imaging, perioperative care, and minimally invasive techniques, management of these emergencies continues to pose significant challenges, particularly in patient selection, operative decision-making, and timing of surgical intervention. Variability in access to emergency surgical services, evolving treatment paradigms, and the increasing complexity of comorbid patient populations have deepened the need for updated evidence-based approaches. Current literature highlights ongoing debates regarding conservative versus operative pathways, appropriate surgical timing, and the role of minimally invasive versus open procedures in emergent settings. While several studies document outcomes and perioperative improvements, gaps remain in standardized protocols, long-term quality-of-life assessments, and international consensus on best practices.

This Research Topic aims to explore advances in the emergency surgical management of benign upper GI conditions requiring operative intervention. The goal is to establish clarity on current strategies, optimize patient care, and deepen understanding of factors influencing perioperative and long-term outcomes. Through multidisciplinary collaboration, this collection seeks to answer key questions such as the ideal timing for surgery, optimal procedural techniques to reduce morbidity and mortality, and the effectiveness of adjunctive therapies or damage control approaches in emergent benign disease. Furthermore, it aims to identify predictive factors for successful intervention and the role of new technologies in improving rescue surgery pathways.

To gather further insights into the surgical care and outcomes of benign upper GI emergencies, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

• Timing and decision-making in operative intervention for perforation, obstruction, and bleeding;
• Comparative studies between open, laparoscopic, and endoscopic emergency techniques;
• Development and validation of rescue surgery algorithms and pathways
• Postoperative complications, prognostic indicators, and long-term outcomes;
• Impact of perioperative optimization and critical care on surgical success;
• Role of multidisciplinary teams and systems-based approaches in managing benign upper GI emergencies.

Article types may include original research, clinical trials, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, case series, and technical reports.

Topic Editor Marina Yiasemidou received financial support from AMS (agreement in principle for a research grant). The other Topic Editors declare no competing interests with regard to the Research Topic subject.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Emergency Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery, Benign GI Perforation, Gastric Outlet Obstruction, Upper GI Bleeding, Surgical Timing, Operative Techniques, Rescue Surgery Pathways, Postoperative Outcomes, Minimally Invasive Emergency Surgery

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.