If you’re going in for surgery, you may worry that the doctors will make a mistake. Perhaps you have been reading news reports about wrong-site surgery, for instance, and cases where doctors carry out the wrong procedures on the wrong patients.
You have a lot of different options to help avoid outcomes like these. Some are fairly basic, such as drawing an X on the body part on which they’re supposed to operate — putting an X on your right knee, for instance, so that they don’t operate on the left knee. However, in addition to this, you may also want to:
- Check and see if the surgeon has been accused of malpractice in the past.
- Seek a surgeon with a lot of experience performing the procedure.
- Try to set your surgery up for typical, daytime hours. Even if it’s not as convenient for you, this is when many of the best doctors work their standard shifts.
- Consider the proficiency of the medical staff that will assist the surgeon.
- Find a surgeon who makes you feel comfortable and confident.
- Go to other medical centers to learn more and perhaps even get a second opinion.
- Ask every question you can think of. There are no silly questions. This is your life and your health. Do not be satisfied until you get all of the answers you seek.
Doing some or all of the above goes a long way toward ensuring the likelihood of a successful operation, but nothing guarantees it. Make sure you know what legal options you have if the doctors do make a critical error.