A family member needed a surgery that had a 60% complication rate, so this was a topic I researched. We flew across the country to the doctor I found, who inven

A family member needed a surgery that had a 60% complication rate, so this was a topic I researched. We flew across the country to the doctor I found, who invented the technique, publishes on it, was improving on it, and performed more of this repair than anyone I interviewed. He said "I don't get those complications" and he was right. Here are my takeaways for finding the right person: - Surgical success is highly correlated to number of that exact procedure the surgeon performs. The most important question is therefore how many of this procedure a surgeon does a year. The more narrow the specialization, the better. Ask this, and compare. - It is worth travelling for complex procedures where possible. Find your person and make it work. - Doctors often list their specialties and areas of interest on their website. Pick one who is specializing in what you need, and for whom it is an area of interest. - Age-wise, it seems like surgeons with 10+ years of experience are best, but ones nearing retirement age may be out of their prime. I think there's science backing up declines in vision and maybe fine motor skills. - Searching pubmed is a great way to find out who is publishing on an area as well as the complication rate and outcomes for what is being proposed. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/ - Specialists trump generalists. - Bedside manner does not correlate with outcome particularly well, so "seems nice" is the wrong way to choose a doctor. - Larger and more prestigious hospitals tend to attract better talent, so the most convenient option (closest) is often the worse choice.