Choosing a Good Surgeon
Choosing a surgeon will be a choice you live with for years, if not your entire life.
How to choose a surgeon
The surgeon you choose can mean the difference between a successful outcome and one with serious consequences.
♦ Choosing the surgeon should never be taken lightly.
Surgery of any type is stressful and many times risky. But not all surgeries require specialized training.
A general surgeon will often be called upon to repair an inguinal hernia. But someone needing a knee replacement will need an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in knee replacement. Finding the best surgeon for your situation will take some work.
Most people learn from a specialist that they'll need surgery to fix their problem. This can be a very surprising moment, and one that can cause a lot of people to panic. Step back and ask your doctor to explain clearly why the surgery is needed.
• Are there any alternatives to having the surgery?
• What kind of outcome can you expect?
• How could the surgery affect your quality of life?
These are just the start of many questions. If your doctor can't give clear answers, you need to seek out another doctor and get a second opinion.
• Who does your doctor recommend to perform the surgery?
• Will your doctor do the surgery, or are you being referred to someone else?
• If you're being referred to another doctor, you need to know why.
• Does that doctor have special skills that your specialist doesn't?
If your doctor refers you, ask if they'd be comfortable having that doctor operate on them or a member of their family. If there's any hesitation in your doctor's reply, check that surgeon off your list.
Questions for your surgeon
• Is surgery really necessary?
You can't ask this question too many times.
• How often have you done this?
Surgeons who perform the same procedure regularly have the greatest success rate. Specializing in a particular procedure greatly cuts the risks of complications and death.
Avoid the doctor who has little experience doing your procedure.
For some complicated operations, studies have found death rates several times higher among surgeons who do the fewest of those operations.
• Experience matters for hospitals too. Leapfrog, the hospital safety group, reports whether hospitals do enough of certain high-risk surgeries to meet its safety standards. See Choosing a Good Hospital.
• How successful have you been?
• Has this surgery failed or had complications?
A good surgeon will tell you clearly. A poor surgeon will be evasive and vague. Check the evasive one off your list and move on.
• What are the risks?
All surgeries have risks. Your surgeon needs to fully explain all the potential harm that might occur. If he or she doesn't explain this, or simply downplays the risks, it's time to find another doctor.
Second Opinion
A second opinion is good even if you're comfortable with the first surgeon. A second opinion should be from someone associated with a different group. It's especially important if you're having a complicated procedure or one that's new.
• Most insurance plans cover the cost of a second opinion. Medicare Part B covers a second opinion before most non-emergency surgeries.
♦ Don't be surprised if the second opinion is different from the first. A Mayo Clinic study found about 1 in 5 patients who sought a second opinion got a completely different diagnosis.
Some types of surgery get conflicting second opinions more often than others. Back surgery is one, where some doctors are quick to send people under the knife while other doctors want to pursue physical therapy forever.
• If your surgeon doesn't have a clear plan or gives vague answers, you need a second opinion.
You'll need to make an appointment and make it clear you're seeking a second opinion. The doctor may request your medical records in advance. Otherwise, be prepared to bring them to the appointment.
Finding a surgeon
Ask around
Talk with your primary care doctor. There's a good chance your primary care doctor knows the surgeon you're considering. No doctor will say outright that another doctor has poor skills. Pay attention to how your primary care doctor talks about the surgeon.
♦ Ask your doctor, "Would you be comfortable having this person operate on you?"
You may need to make an appointment to get time with your primary care doctor. Make the best of the time by preparing at least a couple names of possible surgeons and a few quick questions.
Talking to friends and colleagues can be very uncomfortable, depending on the surgery.
Most people don't feel uncomfortable talking about something like cataract surgery. A friend who has had a successful cataract surgery is usually quite eager to provide plenty of details.
However, if your friend hasn't had the same surgery, the discussion may not be very constructive.
Ask your insurance company
♦ Studies have found many patients rank insurance acceptance as their top priority when choosing a surgeon.
These days almost all insurance companies have websites with a way to search for providers by specialty. Most will send you a printed provider list if you ask. You can also call the customer service number on the back of your insurance card. Calling can be easier, but you'll gather less information than with a website search.
If you live in a larger metropolitan area, you'll have many more choices for surgeons than in rural areas.
There might not be a qualified surgeon in your immediate area. In that case, ask your insurance company for permission to use a surgeon outside your coverage area or your plan's network. This is most critical if you have an HMO or EPO type health plan.
DocInfo. You can search by name and state.
The results are simple. They show the doctor's education, active license and any actions.
If you see any references to "actions," you probably want to scratch this doctor off your list. To investigate any "actions" more thoroughly, you'll need to contact your state medical board.
The nonprofit ProPublica has put together a nice list of states and who to contact.
Board Certification – Board certified means a physician has undergone lengthy training in a specialty and passed a stringent exam. Roughly 80% of all doctors are board certified. To find out whether the surgeon is board certified, check with the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS).
You'll need to give them an email address and choose a password before you can view any record. This is simple to do. If you have trouble viewing the site, your browser may not have JavaScript enabled. You can also call 1-800-733-2267.
• If your surgeon is a DO, they may be certified through the American Osteopathic Association instead. Check its website, or ask the surgeon's office.
If you see the words "board eligible," it means the doctor has finished the appropriate training and residency but hasn't yet passed the exam. The doctor may not have had time to take the test, or may have tried and failed.
It's common for young doctors to be "board eligible." Most specialty boards now limit how long a doctor can call themselves "board eligible," usually several years after finishing training.
Below is a screenshot of ABMS's search results for a well-known doctor in the Atlanta area, taken in [November, 2026].
Surgeon's Success Rate
It's difficult to put a score on a surgeon's skill. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) collects tons of data on surgeries and their outcomes, but it's been slow to share results for individual surgeons with the public. Pressure from doctors and hospitals appears to be the driving force.
♦ Some argue the data is imperfect because it comes from older people on Medicare, who tend to have more health problems that affect recovery.
A few groups tried to turn this data into surgeon ratings. The nonprofit Consumers' Checkbook launched one called Surgeon Ratings, but the site has been down for some time with a "Coming Soon!" message. Perhaps they'll relaunch it someday.
• Even when these sites worked, they had gaps. Many surgeons had no data at all, and different rating sites often graded the same surgeon very differently.
For now, your best tools are the questions above, a second opinion, and checking the surgeon's license and board certification.
Avoid surprise bills
• If you have surgery at an in-network hospital or surgery center, federal law generally protects you from surprise bills from out-of-network doctors working on your case, like anesthesiologists or assistant surgeons. Still, ask before surgery who will be involved.
Decision Time
You shouldn't make a choice or move forward with surgery until you feel completely comfortable with the surgeon and his or her plan. Your health and quality of life depend on it. Take your time choosing your doctor.
Ask questions… Do your research…
