what to ask for in a surgeon?

So I finally got a surgery consult fee basised out. But the problem is I am trying to figure out what to ask for in a surgeon?  I am thinking someone board certified in corectal surgery might be a place to start?

There's a decent chance there is one surgeon who has the most experience doing your specific surgery. I assume you'll have it done at the VA, so I don't know if that will be true for you. My hospital had a guy who is nationally known and does 2 or 3 resections per week.

there are just general surgeons at this VA so they decided to go outside

I would ask them to hold their hands out in front of you. That way you can make sure they don't have shaky hands. j/k You can do research on most doctors through internet resources and see the reviews. Some of the good ones you may have to pay for but it may be worth the small price to read the good and the bad about each one. I would look for a surgeon that is not too old and not just out of med school. Reason for this is that you will find a surgeon that uses modern techniques but still has years of experience doing the same surgery. I would also look for someone that has good bedside manner. I know that it is good television the way Dr. House talks to his patients on the show "House" but if you have ever had a doctor with bad bedside manner it is horrible. I had a horrible experience with a doctor that was supposed to be one of the best Internal Medicine docs in the state and was covering for my doc when I was hospitalized. I had already been there for 3 weeks and diagnosed with a G.I. bleed and crohn's but he still found it in his heart to walk in my room and tell me that he had no idea why I was hospitalized and if it were up to him he would have released me about 2 weeks ago. Luckily my doctor brought my confidence back up the next day when he returned and told me had I been released 2 weeks prior I would probably not be alive. Bedside manner is huge when in the hospital for a few days.

experiance counts, as does success rates.. every dr should be able to tell you there sucess rate/complication rate for each type of surgery they do. also even the older experianced ones may not be up on the newest techniques. they may have read about some new way of doing things but the young guy has probably done it in his/her residency. smell there breath at an after lunch appointment. make sure there not having the old 3 martini lunch to get through the afternoon. if you can get an scheduled op at short notice , maybe they are not to good. a good surgeon should be booked for at least a couple weeks in advance. (emergencies dont count) how many do they do in a day. ? you want someone fresh, not one thats on his 4th op of the day. ask for the first one in the schedule in the day. everything is clean in the or from the night before cleaning and you wont have to wait for a cleaning team. also, first up's rarely get bumped you dont want to get all prepped and then get bumped cause an emergency came in at 9am. you want to be in the or at 6am! plus your first to the recovery room and get undivided attention till they start to fill up. i ve had all times of day and night and early has always been the best... ;o)

mattter of fact i just had a small OP last thrsday that i did not advertise. i was 1st at 630 am and was out of recovery by 930 and home by 11. although i did have some battle scars... i woke with a inch long abrassion on my shoulder and a sore stomach and hurting throat from the intubation. and some face brusing.. i was a little fiesty apparently going under. ;o).. i was tapping my finger and looking at the surgeon while they were expecting me to be under. i warned them that it takes a lot to get me under. they thought my IV was clamped, then they thought the face mask was defective. it old them again i could feel the IV sedative going in and smell the gas from the mask, but it wasnt enough. i guess they finally got it right!

Personally, I've found that surgeons who are good don't necessarily have the best bedside manner. IMHO, it doesn't matter how they talk to you, it's how well they cut, and how well they know how to cut. Working with surgeons, I've found that most good ones aren't overly nice, but not mean either....right down the middle. My surgeon is great, and I HATED him the first time I met him. Over time, and working in the same hospital (and him knowing I worked at that hospital) I've come to respect him a great deal. Some of the surgeons who came across the best personality wise I would not want to touch ANYONE I know.

Oh, and I also want a surgeon who is brutally honest with me. I want to hear my expected outcome, possible complications, etc. without it being sugar coated. I'd rather know everything up front than have "surprises."

Can you talk to your GI and get suggestions of who they would use? I'd ask "who would you use if it was you" and not "who do you recommend"...there's a huge difference. Some drs get in the habit of referring patients to other doctors, but that's not necessarily who they would use if it was them having to be treated.

hey dagger, well in reality your sugar should have been managed through an IV and monitored so that it wouldnt have dropped to low. dr/nursing messed up on that.

Navy there is an American Society of colorectal surgeons -- might check their website to see if there is a certified member near you. A CR surgeon is usually one who has completed the basic general surgery residency (usually five years) plus a year or more in a fellowship in CR surgery to subspecialize. However, keep in mind that all general surgeons work primarily in the abdomen (gall bladders, colon resections, etc.) and are pretty well qualified to deal with any abdominal issues. And I agree that bedside manner is immaterial. I personally prefer the gruff no-nonsense type of doc who tends to business with my body to the one who spends a lot of time on PR frivolities.