What’s the difference? How long has “A surgery” been in the lexicon? I’d always referred to the action as “Performing an operation” or “Performing surgery” - but “Performing a surgery” seems awkward to me…
I’ve had a few operations, and every time I’ve had one, I’ve gone in for surgery, but it seems, again, awkward to state that I’ve had x number of surgeries.
The usage I hear is “surgery” when describing the art or the profession or the treatment option, that is, when it is the stuff and not one of the things.
And, “an operation” when it’s the patient talking, and “a procedure” when it’s the healthcare professional talking.
My 1990 Merriam-Webster lists it as definition 4b as a synonym for “operation.” M-W’s guidelines, as with many other dictionaries, list the definitions as they enter the language. So, while a relative latecomer, it’s not particularly recent, either.
Just a WAG but an “operation” can be a larger term than a “surgery”. I once had four surgeries at once although I called the whole thing an operation. I admit this distinction is not clear-cut however.
I just checked the Oxford English Dictionary, and it has the following citation:
So “surgery” has been used with the indefinite article for over a hundred years. (Of course in this particular example, a couple of adjectives intervene, but I don’t think that’s relevant.)
To the vast majority us docs, there’s no meaningful difference.
I think you have that backwards.
FTR, “a surgery” is also commonly used in “British” English to refer to a clinic - eg., “the doctor treats patients both at the hospital and at his surgery.” It’s also used to refer to a general professional setting; a lawyer can have a surgery, in the sense of a place and time where he dispenses advice- ie., his office hours. I think MPs used to call their regular “hobnob with the constituents and find out what they’re pissed off about” sessions surgeries, too.
To me, they’re synonyms.
I realize that this isn’t in IMHO, so my post is my cite. 