Specialty Area: Surgery

Description of Specialty: Surgery is a branch of medicine that treats diseases wholly or in part by manual or operative procedures.

1. Diagnosis: General questions to ask a surgeon regardless of the type of surgery Questions That Should Be Asked:

  1. Are you Board certified or eligible?
  2. What hospitals do you utilize and are they university affiliated?
  3. What are the alternatives to this surgery?
  4. What are the common complications of this operation?
  5. What is the usual time in the hospital for the operation?
  6. What is the usual time to return to work or active life?
  7. How much pain should I expect?
  8. When can I take a bath/shower or get my incision wet?
  9. When can I drive a car?
  10. What are the benefits of having the surgery and what will happen if I don't have it?
  11. How much will the surgery cost?
  12. Will you personally do the surgery?

2. Diagnosis: Hernia Repair

Questions That Should Be Asked:

  1. Is an open operation or limited access (laproscopic) operation better for me?
  2. What are the chances of a recurrence of the hernia?
  3. Will you use mesh for the repair and why?
  4. What are the restrictions on my activities after the operation and how much weight can I lift?
  5. When can I bathe or get wet?
  6. What will I be able to go outside, have sexual relations, drive a car or resume normal daily activity?

3. Diagnosis: Appendectomy

Questions That Should Be Asked:

  1. How certain is the diagnosis?
  2. Will you use laproscopic surgery or an open operation?
  3. Will I need antibiotics after surgery and, if so, what type and for how long?
  4. When after surgery should I expect to have my first bowel movement and will it be painful?
  5. What should I take for a laxative?
  6. Will I need a special diet after surgery?

4. Diagnosis: Cholecystectomy

Questions That Should Be Asked:

  1. Will you use laproscopic surgery or an open operation and what are the advantages of each?
  2. How can I get along without my gall bladder?
  3. How long will I be in the hospital?
  4. Can gallstones reform and where?
  5. When can I return to work and normal daily routines?

5. Diagnosis: Bowel Resection

Questions That Should Be Asked:

  1. Will I need an ostomy and, if so, when will it be closed?
  2. Who will teach me to care for the ostomy and will it be difficult?
  3. Will I need a special post-operative diet?
  4. If my operation is for cancer, will I need x-ray therapy or chemotherapy after surgery?
  5. What are the chances of the spread of the tumor or of recurrence?
  6. If my operation is for inflammation, what will I need to do to decrease the chances of recurrence and can this disease occur in another location later

? 6. Diagnosis: Mastectomy

Questions That Should Be Asked:

  1. How much breast tissue will have to be removed?
  2. Am I a candidate for breast conservation and if not, why not?
  3. Do you have to remove the lymph nodes from my armpit?
  4. Should I have breast reconstruction surgery and, if so, when?
  5. Will I need x-ray therapy?
  6. Will I need chemotherapy?
  7. Will my daughter(s) be at risk for breast cancer?
  8. Will my sons?
  9. What type of follow-up will be necessary and how frequently?

7. Diagnosis: Thyroidectomy-Parathyroidectomy

Questions That Should Be Asked:

  1. What are the complications of para or thyroidectomy and will I be able to talk after surgery?
  2. How much tissue will be removed?
  3. Can the thyroid grow back?
  4. Do I have to take any medications after surgery and for how long?
  5. For parathyroidectomy, can the abnormal gland(s) always be found;
  6. what are the chances of needing another operation;
  7. how often do I need a follow-up; and will I have to take any medications after surgery?

8. Diagnosis: Vascular Bypass

Questions That Should Be Asked:

  1. What will be used to bypass the blocked artery, how long will it stay in place and can it break or rupture?
  2. What are the chances of the graft staying open and functioning and for how long?
  3. What are the chances that the graft will clot off and what will happen if the graft occludes?
  4. What can I do to help the graft stay open?
  5. Is there a special diet I should have and can I smoke?
  6. Do I need to be followed up after surgery?

9. Diagnosis: Vascular Aneurysm

Questions That Should Be Asked:

  1. What is used to take the place of the artery that is removed and how long will the graft last?
  2. What precautions do I have to take to protect the graft?
  3. Do I need a special diet after surgery and can I smoke?
  4. Can I get another aneurysm someplace else and where might those places be?
  5. How often will follow-up be required?

William V. Shieber, M.D. Clinical Associate Professor Department of Surgery Washington University Medical School St. Louis, MO                             

                                                                                      

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