General surgery is the terminology given for procedures that focus on abdominal organs (i.e. intestines, stomach, gallbladder, liver, etc.). They also perform procedures on the thyroid gland and hernias.
Surgeons utilize several different techniques to perform these surgical procedures, including traditional open surgeries, laparoscopy, and robotically-assisted surgery.
A general surgeon must be able to deal with any surgical emergency. Often they are called upon to assist in stabilizing a patient.