What does the cryptic crossword clue "Carried out surgery; chose to take a long time (8)" mean?

The wordplay uses a container (one word inside another). ERA (synonym="a long period of time") in OPTED (synonym="chose") = OPERATED The answer is OPERATED.

Carried out surgery; chose to take a long time (8)

Independent Cryptic #12012 | 27 Across | 2025-04-09 flower

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