By looking at her face I can tell she has had/had surgeries.

[Ashraful Haque]

"By looking at her face I can tell she's had surgeries."

Is it possible to say 'she had surgeries'?
I'm a little confused, since once you have surgery there's no way to undo that. Unless we're talking about a dead person.

 

[emsr2d2]

"By looking at her face, I can tell she's had surgeries."

Is it possible to say 'she had surgeries'?
I'm a little confused, since once you have surgery there's no way to undo that, unless we're talking about a dead person.

The simple past doesn't work there. As long as she's still alive, use the present perfect. You're talking about surgery she's had up until this point in time. The possibility that she'll have more still exists.

 

[5jj]

Note:

She has had surgery - uncountable
She has had an operation - countable, singular

 

[Tarheel]

www.dictionary.com

Definition #3.

 

[Ashraful Haque]

Note:

She has had surgery - uncountable
She has had an operation - countable, singular

"By looking at her face I can tell she's had surgeries."

Is the 's' after surgery wrong in this sentence?
Should I stick to operations if I want to let the listener know that she's had multiple operations?

 

[emsr2d2]

As a general statement, say "she's had surgery". That could mean once or multiple times. "Surgery" can be both countable and uncountable.

 

[Ashraful Haque]

As a general statement, say "she's had surgery". That could mean once or multiple times. "Surgery" can be both countable and uncountable.

"I had two major surgery over a span of 24 hours."
Does this sentence sound good?

Please notice that I mentioned 'had' instead of 'have had.' I'm talking about a specific time period when I had a shoulder injury and needed surgery. Unlike my original example about plastic surgery, there is no chance of me getting another surgery since it's a necessity rather than just superficial changes to enhance your looks (just my opinion).

 

[5jj]

"I had two major surgery over a span of 24 hours."
Does this sentence sound good?

No. it's either:

"I had two major operations over a span of 24 hours."
or
"I had two major surgeries over a span of 24 hours."

I don't like the second, but apparently it's acceptable to some.

 

[jutfrank]

I consider the plural 'surgeries' wrong, and that the word 'surgery' is uncountable only.

She's had a lot of surgery.

This sentence suggests she's had numerous operations.

 

[Tarheel]

This may be a British English/American English difference. Having said that, most Americans would say "operations" and not "surgeries". However, we also don't call a doctor's office a "surgery".

 

[emsr2d2]

This may be a British English/American English difference. Having said that, most Americans would say "operations" and not "surgeries". However, we also don't call a doctor's office a "surgery".

I'm more likely to use "operation" for things that are medically required, and "surgery" when referring to things like cosmetic surgery. However, a doctor is equally likely to say to someone "Unfortunately, you need surgery" and "Unfortunately, you need an operation".

 

[Ashraful Haque]

This may be a British English/American English difference. Having said that, most Americans would say "operations" and not "surgeries". However, we also don't call a doctor's office a "surgery".

Is 'surgeries' not used at all in American english?

 

[Tarheel]

You can use "surgeries". It would be readily understood. However, I wouldn't expect anybody to say that. The singular for that procedure is "operation" and the plural is "operations".

It's a little tricky, I suppose. If we say somebody is going to have a surgical procedure done that means they're going to have an operation.

In American English a "surgery" is not the same as in British English. In American English it's another word for operation room (OR). (I think I remember that right. In any case, you can look it up )

 

[emsr2d2]

In BrE, if we're talking about cosmetic surgery, we use "work"!

You can see she's had a lot of work done!

If you were talking to someone who isn't familiar with that use of "work", you'd say "You can see she's had a lot of cosmetic surgery".