operating surgeon vs surgeon

operating surgeon and surgeon both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
operating surgeon	Yes	No	No	No
surgeon	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, operating surgeon and surgeon are synonyms defined as:

Other synonyms of operating surgeon include sawbones.

operating surgeon (noun)	surgeon (noun)
a physician who specializes in surgery	a physician who specializes in surgery