21 Questions You Need to Ask Your Surgeon Before You or Your Loved One Has Surgery
by www.SixWise.com
Millions of Americans have surgery every year (estimates
range anywhere from 23 million to 60 million procedures per
year!) and must put their health into the hands of their surgeon.
Fortunately, most surgeries are elective, or at least not
immediate, which means you have time to do your homework and
choose a surgeon that you feel comfortable with.
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Be sure to ask your surgeon to mark the location of
your body that's going to be operated on -- before the
procedure. This reduces the risk of having the surgery
mistakenly performed on the wrong area of your body.
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It's your body, after all, and you must take the time to
learn about your surgeon and the procedure that's going to
be done. You wouldn't simply buy a car or a house without
first looking into it, would you? Nor should you go blindly
into any health care procedure.
Moreover, studies have found that well-informed patients
heal faster and report having a better surgical experience
than those who are not, according to the American Society
of Anesthesiologists.
So take your time "interviewing" your surgeon with
the following top questions so you feel certain that the procedure
and the surgeon are right for you.
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How will the surgery be performed? (Ask him or her to
draw you a diagram, if you like.)
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Is there more than one way of performing the procedure?
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Are there alternatives to the surgical procedure?
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What are the benefits of the surgery?
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What are the risks of the surgery?
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If I opt NOT to have the procedure, what are the risks/benefits?
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What is the expected outcome of the surgery?
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How many of this (or similar) surgery do you perform
each year? (A good indicator of experience and ability)
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What kind of anesthesia will be used? (And what are
the risks/benefits of it?)
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Will I meet with an anesthesiologist before surgery?
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Will my heart rate and breathing be monitored during
the surgery (and is anything else monitored)?
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Your surgery may require anesthesia. Do you know what
kind it is?
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At which hospital will the surgery be performed?
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How often is this procedure performed at that hospital,
and what is the success rate? (Studies show that patients
do better in hospitals that have experience with the procedure.)
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How long will I be in the hospital?
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Is there a 24-hour recovery room in the hospital (or,
where will I recover in the hospital)?
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What are the qualifications of the staff in the recovery
room?
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What are my options for pain control after the surgery?
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How long will it take me to recover?
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What will the procedure cost, and is it covered by my
insurance?
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What about a second opinion? (Getting a second opinion
is fairly common before an elective surgical procedure
is performed.)
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Will you please mark the location of the surgery on
my body ahead of time? (This helps to ensure that the
wrong site is not operated on, which does, fairly rarely,
sometimes happen.)
We recommend you
and relatives
who can benefit from it, and print it out and save it for
your own possible future reference.
Recommended Reading
27
Never Events: They're Not Supposed to Happen, but They Often
Do
Items
Left Inside People After Surgery: Just How Common is This
Terrifying Ordeal?
Sources
Agency
for Health Care Research and Quality
American
Society of Anesthesiologists