Patients are often told to ask questions and then given no idea which ones. Here is a short list that works in any consultation, with any surgeon. The point is not to catch anyone out, but to make sure you and the surgeon are describing the same operation.
About the plan
- What specifically are you changing, and what are you deliberately leaving alone?
- What is causing the thing I came in about, and is it skin, soft tissue, or structure?
- Is there a smaller operation that gets most of the way there?
- What happens if I do nothing for a year?
About the result
Ask what the result will look like at three months and at two years, not just when the swelling settles. Ask what it will look like as you continue to age, because a result that only works on the day is not a result.
If you cannot repeat the plan back in your own words, the consultation is not finished.
About recovery
- How long before I can work, and what kind of work?
- What will be visible, and for how long?
- What is normal in the first two weeks, and what should make me call?
- Who do I reach at night or on a weekend?
About the risks that apply to me
A generic risk list is not useful. Ask which risks are elevated by your particular anatomy, your history, or the specific approach being proposed, and what the plan is if one of them happens.
About the practical side
Ask what the quoted cost includes, whether revision is covered and under what circumstances, where the operation takes place, who else is in the room, and how follow-up is scheduled.
One last one
Ask the surgeon what they would advise if you were a member of their family. The answer, and how quickly it comes, tells you a great deal.
This is a general list, not medical advice. What applies to you is decided at examination.