First assistant

In surgery, the first assistant, sometimes called a first assist, is a person other than the surgeon who directly assists the surgeon with the operation at hand. Where more than one assistant is used, the other assistants are similarly termed second assistant and so on. Depending on locality, the term assistant surgeons may be used to refer to the surgical team other than the lead surgeon.

The role of assistant surgeon is most commonly undertaken by medical practitioners training in the field of surgery, medical students or general medical practitioners who devote part of their practice to assisting in theatre. In some places, registered nurses or surgical technicians may also act in the role of first assistant.

The degree of involvement varies and is under the direction of the surgeon, however common tasks include holding retractors, suctioning, tying sutures, and performing skin closure.

This position should not be confused with first scrub.