surgeon vs operating surgeon

surgeon and operating surgeon both are nouns.

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

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

Other synonyms of surgeon include sawbones.

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