A. For the purposes of this subtitle, except as used in Chapter 38 (§ 54.1-3800 et seq.) related to veterinary medicine, "surgery" means the structural alteration of the human body by the incision or cutting into of tissue for the purpose of diagnostic or therapeutic treatment of conditions or disease processes by any instrument causing localized alteration or transposition of live human tissue, but does not include the following: procedures for the removal of superficial foreign bodies from the human body, punctures, injections, dry needling, acupuncture, or removal of dead tissue. For the purposes of this section, incision shall not mean the scraping or brushing of live tissue.
B. No person shall perform surgery unless he is (i) licensed by the Board of Medicine as a doctor of medicine, osteopathy, or podiatry; (ii) licensed by the Board of Dentistry as a doctor of dentistry; (iii) jointly licensed by the Boards of Medicine and Nursing as a nurse practitioner; (iv) a physician assistant acting under the supervision of a doctor of medicine, osteopathy, or podiatry; (v) a licensed midwife in the performance of episiotomies during childbirth; (vi) licensed by the Board of Optometry as an optometrist and certified to perform laser surgery pursuant to § 54.1-3225; or (vii) acting pursuant to the orders and under the appropriate supervision of a licensed doctor of medicine, osteopathy, podiatry, or dentistry.
C. Nothing in this section shall be construed to restrict, limit, change, or expand the scope of practice in effect on January 1, 2012, of any profession licensed by any of the health regulatory boards within the Department of Health Professions.
2012, cc. 15, 124; 2022, cc. 16, 17.
Structure Code of Virginia
Title 54.1 - Professions and Occupations
Chapter 24 - General Provisions
§ 54.1-2400. General powers and duties of health regulatory boards
§ 54.1-2400.01. Certain definition
§ 54.1-2400.01:1. Surgery defined; who may perform surgery
§ 54.1-2400.01:2. Ophthalmic prescription defined; who may provide ophthalmic prescriptions
§ 54.1-2400.1. Mental health service providers; duty to protect third parties; immunity
§ 54.1-2400.3. Disciplinary actions to be reported
§ 54.1-2400.4. Mental health service providers duty to inform; immunity; civil penalty
§ 54.1-2400.8. Immunity for reporting
§ 54.1-2400.9. Reporting disabilities of drivers
§ 54.1-2402. Citizen members on health regulatory boards
§ 54.1-2402.1. Appointments, removals, and limitation of terms of members of regulatory boards
§ 54.1-2403. Certain advertising prohibited
§ 54.1-2403.01. Routine component of prenatal care
§ 54.1-2403.02. Prenatal education; cord blood banking
§ 54.1-2403.1. Protocol for certain medical history screening required
§ 54.1-2403.3. Medical records; ownership; provision of copies
§ 54.1-2404. Itemized statements required upon request
§ 54.1-2404.1. Patient records
§ 54.1-2406. Treatment records of practitioners
§ 54.1-2407. Requirements for human research
§ 54.1-2408. Disqualification for license, certificate or registration
§ 54.1-2408.2. Minimum period for reinstatement after revocation
§ 54.1-2408.3. Practice pending appeal
§ 54.1-2408.4. Temporary authorization to practice
§ 54.1-2409. Mandatory suspension or revocation; reinstatement; hearing for reinstatement
§ 54.1-2409.2. Board to set criteria for determining need for professional regulation
§ 54.1-2409.3. Participation of advisory boards in disciplinary proceedings
§ 54.1-2409.4. Authority to receive laboratory results directly