Questions for Surgery

Created by QFL August 24, 2003

 

Questions for the doctor before the surgery:

• What is the procedure?

• Who is the best surgeon to do the procedure?

• Will s/he be the only doctor involved in the operation ?
• Will medical students be involved?

• How many procedures have you done?

• Is this process necessary?

• Are there other less invasive forms of treatment?

• How long is the recovery time?

• Will I need to be off my feet?

• Will I need help around the house?

Risk

• What is the risk of not having the surgery?

• What are the likely problems to occur as a result of the surgery?

• What are the the risks?

• Will there be any permanent nerve damage as a result of the surgery?

• Is this a chronic problem or can it be corrected with time?

Timing and Logistics

• What days to you do the procedure?

• Is it possible to have the surgery on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday?

• What are the follow- up procedures?

• Will the follow-up procedures be with you?

• Can the procedure be done locally or does it need to be done at a hospital?

• What paperwork can be done prior to the procedure to reduce the time spent at the hospital?

Medications

• Would the medications used effect a mother's milk (if nursing)?

• How long will the medications stay in the bloodstream?

• What are the likely side effects of the medication?

  • Will I feel groggy?

  • Will it effect my ability to eat and digest food?

PLEASE NOTE:

QuestionsForLiving creating these questions. In the early days, we created our own questions. We still do.

We defer to the questions of thought leaders when they are available, otherwise we create our own.