General information to help you prepare for a conversation with your clinician.
You asked for a second opinion to make the decision easier. Now one surgeon has offered you an operation and the other has suggested more therapy. What do you say when the first office calls to ask whether you want a date?
You can tell them exactly where you are. “I heard a different recommendation, and I’m trying to understand what each of you expects to happen.” Start there before deciding that you need a third appointment.
Find the first place the explanations part ways
On a sheet of paper, put each surgeon’s name at the top of a column. Under each name, write what they think is causing your trouble, what they suggest doing first, and what improvement they expect. Leave a blank wherever you didn’t get an answer. That blank is often the question for your next call.
For instance, the two surgeons might agree about the finding on your scan. One may be talking about what an operation could change; the other may be talking about what’s worth trying before then. Or they may disagree about which finding explains your symptoms. Those are different conversations.
Give both offices the same facts
Did one surgeon see the images while the other had only the report? Did both know how long you tried therapy and what changed? Did you tell both that handling stairs at work is your biggest worry? Ask whether the missing detail changes the advice. Ask permission to share visit notes through the office’s secure process if that would help.
Ask what waiting would mean for you
A question for each surgeon“If I wait, what might I gain or risk? Is there a point when waiting changes my options, and when should we revisit this?”
Give yourself room to ask the same question about surgery. What would count as a good result for the activity you care about? What would recovery ask of you at home? If either surgeon said timing matters, contact that office promptly to clarify the deadline and why it applies to you.
Before you hang up, write the next step under one name. “I’ll call Dr. ___ after ___” is more useful than another page of notes you can’t act on.
What did we miss?
Suggest a question for a future post. Keep it general; please don’t email scans or personal medical information.
Source
American College of Surgeons guide to surgical consultation