Surgery in the EMREE blueprint
The official Nov 2025 EMREE blueprint gives Surgery a weight of 15%. On a 120-question paper that is about 18 questions; this count is our arithmetic, because the blueprint publishes percentages only and allows distributions to vary by up to ±5% in each category.
Across all disciplines, the blueprint’s competency table weights Diagnoses & Investigations most heavily (25–30%), followed by Pharmacologic Therapies and Non-pharmacologic Management (15–20% each). Questions are pitched at a graduate with at least one year of training and set in a UAE context, so expect clinical vignettes asking for the most likely diagnosis, the best investigation or the next step in management. Surgical questions at this level focus on recognition, initial assessment and management decisions rather than operative technique.
A 34-year-old man is reviewed on postoperative day 6 after an open appendicectomy for perforated appendicitis. He reports increasing pain at the wound. Temperature is 37.9 °C, pulse 90/min and blood pressure 128/78 mmHg. The incision is red for about 1 cm around its edges, tender and fluctuant, with pus draining from its lateral end; the abdomen is otherwise soft and non-tender. WBC is 11.2 × 10^9/L.
Which of the following is the most appropriate management?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B.
This is a superficial incisional surgical site infection: pus from the skin and subcutaneous layer of the incision within 30 days of surgery. The key treatment is source control. The wound is opened over the collection, the pus is drained and sent for culture, and the cavity is irrigated and left to heal by secondary intention with dressings. Systemic antibiotics are an adjunct only, needed when there is spreading cellulitis (for example more than 5 cm beyond the wound edge), systemic features or immunosuppression. None of these is present here.
- A: Antibiotics alone do not penetrate an undrained collection, so the infection will persist without opening the wound.
- C: Relaparotomy is for deep or organ/space infection with peritonitis or a collection that cannot be drained percutaneously, and the abdomen here is soft.
- D: Topical antibiotics and occlusion do not treat a pus collection, and NICE advises against them for this purpose.
High-yield: Superficial SSI = skin/subcutaneous infection within 30 days; treat by opening and draining the wound. · Add systemic antibiotics only for spreading cellulitis, systemic features or immunocompromise. · Send pus for culture and consider deep or organ/space infection if the patient is unwell or the abdomen is tender.
Original practice question written by EMREE UAE — not a past EMREE question.
Surgery · Starter plan and above
Practise Surgery in tutor mode
What the official outline covers
Basic principles
- Surgical infection and antibiotics (SIRS, prevention, surgical site, intra-abdominal and soft-tissue infections); preoperative evaluation and risk assessment; local and regional anaesthesia, monitoring and pain management; wound healing and dressings; post-operative care, fever, DVT and complications of common procedures.
General surgery
- Breast: mastalgia, nipple discharge, breast mass (including in pregnancy), benign disease, abscess, screening and cancer.
- Endocrine surgery: neck mass, thyroid nodule, thyroid cancer, thyroidectomy complications, hyperparathyroidism, adrenal incidentaloma and surgical hypertension.
- GI and hepatobiliary: GERD, corrosive injury, oesophageal cancer, upper and lower GI bleeding, obesity surgery, bowel obstruction, colorectal polyps, screening and cancer, diverticular and anorectal disease, biliary colic, cholecystitis, obstructive jaundice, cholangitis, hydatid disease, liver abscess, pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer.
- Hernias, skin and soft tissue, vascular: inguinal and ventral hernias, necrotising fasciitis, tetanus prophylaxis, sarcoma, diabetic foot, acute and chronic limb ischaemia, varicose veins, VTE, compartment syndrome, AAA, dialysis access.
- Paediatric and plastic surgery: pyloric stenosis, Hirschsprung disease, undescended testis; hand infections, carpal tunnel, melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma, burns, pressure sores.
Trauma and acute care
- Initial assessment, airway, life-threatening chest injuries, shock, abdominal, pelvic, head and spinal trauma, triage, specific organ trauma, damage control surgery, surgical ICU principles and the acute abdomen, including mesenteric ischaemia and perforation.
Subspecialties
- Urology (retention, torsion, haematuria, stones, BPH, infections, paediatric urology), neurosurgery (raised ICP, cord compression, hydrocephalus, tumours), orthopaedics (open fractures, fracture principles, bone tumours), ENT (epistaxis, otitis, sinusitis, tonsillitis, hearing loss, balance) and ophthalmology (red eye, glaucoma, cataract, retinal disorders, sudden visual loss, eye trauma).
High-yield focus areas (our recommendation)
- Trauma primary survey: ABCDE priorities, tension pneumothorax, cardiac tamponade and haemorrhagic shock.
- Acute abdomen: appendicitis, cholecystitis, pancreatitis, obstruction, perforation and mesenteric ischaemia, including the right first investigation.
- Surgical emergencies across subspecialties: testicular torsion, acute limb ischaemia, compartment syndrome, cauda equina and cord compression, acute angle-closure glaucoma.
- Peri-operative care: risk assessment, antibiotic prophylaxis, VTE prophylaxis and post-operative fever.
- Lumps: the approach to breast, thyroid and neck masses.
How our Surgery question bank works
Our Surgery questions are original practice items written for EMREE preparation. They are not recalled or real exam questions. Each one is:
- Mapped to the official outline, tagged by blueprint heading (for example Hepatobiliary, Trauma or Urology) so you can see your coverage.
- Tagged by competency and difficulty, using the blueprint’s seven competencies and a mix close to its 40/40/20 easy/moderate/difficult split.
- Written as a four-option single-best-answer vignette, the style used in the official 2012 sample paper.
- Fully explained, with the reasoning for the correct answer, why each distractor is wrong, two or three learning points and references to standard texts or current guidelines.
You can practise in tutor mode (explanations after each question) or timed mode, bookmark difficult items and, on Standard and Premium plans, build weak-area sets with the custom exam builder. Sample questions are available free.
Official recommended reading
The blueprint’s reading list (pages 32–33) recommends:
- Current Surgical Therapy, 14th edition (Cameron & Cameron)
- Bailey & Love’s Short Practice of Surgery, 28th edition (2023)
- The Mont Reid Surgical Handbook, 7th edition (2017)
Clinical guideline sources listed for all disciplines include NICE, AAFP, USPSTF, ACOG, RCOG, CDC and WHO. The blueprint states that the list is a study aid only, implies no endorsement, and that questions are not necessarily taken from these sources. The learning resources page still shows some older editions; we follow the newer blueprint list.
How to study Surgery for EMREE
- Begin with principles and trauma, which apply across many questions.
- Work region by region through general surgery, using a short handbook for each topic before questions.
- Do not skip the subspecialties. ENT, ophthalmology and urology are listed in detail and are easy to under-prepare.
- Practise emergencies under time pressure with timed sets.
- Review through full-length mocks, where Surgery makes up about 18 questions.
Frequently asked questions
How many Surgery questions are in EMREE?
Surgery is weighted at 15% in the Nov 2025 blueprint, about 18 of 120 questions by our calculation. The blueprint gives percentages only, with a ±5% tolerance.
Are your Surgery MCQs real EMREE questions?
No. They are original practice questions mapped to the official blueprint outline. We do not use or claim recalled exam questions.
Are ENT and ophthalmology part of EMREE Surgery?
Yes. The official outline lists ENT and ophthalmology among the surgical subspecialties, along with urology, neurosurgery and orthopaedics.
Which surgery books does the blueprint recommend?
Current Surgical Therapy (14th ed.), Bailey & Love's Short Practice of Surgery (28th ed.) and The Mont Reid Surgical Handbook (7th ed.).
Sources
Official information last verified on . Rules and dates can change — always confirm on the official site before you register or apply.