Before you have surgery, ask questions - Health & Science

Before you have surgery, ask questions

Thursday, Apr 24, 2008 - 12:05 AM

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By MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

Before undergoing any surgery, ask questions -- lots of them. That's the advice from Dr. Aage Moller, a physiologist at the University of Texas at Dallas. Here are some questions that every patient should ask:

How do I know that I have the disease for which the operation is aimed? (A diagnosis can be wrong.)

How do I know that the surgery offers the greatest benefits and fewest side effects?

What benefit will I have from the surgery?

Has the operation been shown to give a better or longer life and are there studies to support that?

What are the immediate and long-term risks?

What nonsurgical options are there?

Ask the surgeon how many times he or she has performed this operation. If it's a small number, find another surgeon.

If the surgery might put nerves, the spinal cord or brain at risk of injury, ask whether the surgeon uses intra-operative neurophysiologic monitoring. If not, find another doctor.