Hello, what’s up, I’m Dr. Prasoon. when the first time your doctor advices you a surgery or an expensive medical or surgical procedure, it’ll be hard to digest for you, and you will be wondering whether you should be doing that surgery or not. So, that’s why in this video I am going to tell you five questions that you should be asking your doctors which will help you make a better decision.
overtreatment and unwanted surgeries are happening a lot in our country and most of these can be prevented, If you ask the right questions to your doctors. This is Dofody. so let’s get started with this video. If you haven’t subscribed to our channel yet, please do it right now and when you do that please click on the bell icon and then press the all button so that you will get all the notifications when we release newer videos.
#1 When your doctor advises your surgery he very first question that you should be asking is, “doctor.. Is there any other options?” Most of the surgeries can be postponed and in some cases these surgeries can be avoided. Be it a tonsillectomy for your child, be it a ligament repair or a meniscus repair in your knees or other joints or even an MRI scan. If you ask your doctor about other options, then your doctor will think about other options and let you know the other options which are available for you. Most surgeries in your spinal cord can be avoided and they can be replaced with just bed rest, physical exercises and physiotherapy.
Things are the same when it comes to expensive treatments. If you have doctor prescribes you an expensive medicine, you should definitely ask your doctor about other options. Your doctor might not be knowing about your financial status and only if you ask the questions, the doctor will be able to help you in a better way. Joint replacement surgeries in elderly people who are more than seventy years of age can easily be avoided.
#2 The second question that you should be asking your doctor is, “doctor, is this really necessary?” When your doctor or your surgeon advises your surgery, it is taken for granted that the doctor is correct and most people do not have the courage or do not cough up the confidence to ask the doctor whether this procedure or this surgery is actually needed or not! If your doctor insists that this is the only option and this is the right way and you should be doing this surgery, then you should definitely consider it and in some cases your doctor might be recommending or advising a surgery just for the sake of it or just for preventing other complications. In those cases it is your duty to get the right knowledge and your doctor is the right person to get the right knowledge when it comes to your health.
Doing surgery is what a surgeon is trained to do and as it is their occupation, most of the doctors and surgeons see patients as a surgical case! This is not true in every single case but it can happen as doctors are also humans!. So, just this single question, “doctor is this really necessary?” This single question might make the doctor think again and sometimes your surgery can be avoided. some studies have shown that 3 out of 10 times a surgery or an expensive medical procedure which is prescribed or recommended has been found to be unwanted or it can be considered
as an over treatment. Doctors and health care professionals will be able to make better decisions only if you patients ask the right questions and this question is such an important one!.
#3 The third question that you should be asking is, “what are the risks associated with the surgery or medical procedure?”. every surgery or a medical procedure or any treatment should be done after weighing it on a scale comparing the risks and the benefits, and as every single person is different,the risks and benefit might differ in each one of you. Considering your age, your agender, your current health, your medical history and your past surgical history, weighing the risk-benefit ratio goes a long way to make the right decision on whether a surgery is required or not. If you don’t ask this question, you will come to know about the risk only when you are asked to sign on the consent form just before going into the surgery!. At that time if you are not prepared for all the risks you are going to be surprised! Most of the surgeries comes with a risk of hemorrhage, reinfection, Re-surgery and in case of neurosurgeries, this risk is even higher. So, the next time when you are advised the surgery or a medical procedure always ask the risks about that procedure or surgery, and get your ideas and concepts about that procedure clear from the doctor itself.
#4 The next question that you should be asking your doctor is ask the doctor who is the right person to do this, who is the most skilled person to do your surgery and definitely ask him for more than two names and if you are close to the doctor if you know the doctor personally, ask him where the doctor would do the surgery if he or his family member had been diagnosed with the same condition.
#5 Finally the fifth question that you should be asking your doctor is, “Doctor what if I do nothing and if I don’t do the surgery what will happen?” Now this is what most of the patients have in mind when they hear the word surgery for the first time. They remain silent in the doctor’s office and when they reach their home back this is the decision most of them make but, before making this decision you should always get your doctor’s opinion on it.
Most of the conditions which require a neurosurgery such as a disc prolapse or other sports injuries which requires arthroplasty or laparoscopic surgeries, it can be left alone and if nothing is done there are chances that it will get healed all by itself. but, is this relevant to your condition? in order to find that out, you should definitely ask your doctor. of course you can google these questions and find the answers but in the internet you will find answers to only generalized questions. Your health condition might not be similar to what is described in the internet.
You should always remember these five questions when a doctor recommends or advises a surgery or a medical procedure, and I will highly recommend you to get a second opinion or even a third opinion from a doctor before going into your surgery, before putting your life into a doctors hands, and speaking about second opinions, you can get that very easily by downloading the Dofody App. you can chat, audio call and video call with doctors within minutes, and when you are seeking for second opinions always keep in mind to ask doctors with the same qualification. Don’t go for second opinions from doctors who practice other streams of medicine such as Ayurveda or Homeopathy When you have been advised a surgery.
So I hope you like this video. Please share this video with your friends and family if you really liked it, and don’t forget to subscribe to our channel. I will see you in the next one. Its me doctor. Prasoon signing off, take care stay healthy and thank you so much for watching.