You presumably want the metric (operation, mortality rate); its useless to consider mortality across the board, because that assumes all activities are equally

You presumably want the metric (operation, mortality rate); its useless to consider mortality across the board, because that assumes all activities are equally risky. Otherwise, you end up like this, just entirely removing the option of high-risk activities, regardless of the potential benefit. Essentially, the doctor has decided that he doesn't want to take the risk of killing you, even if you're willing to accept it. Why should that be the doctor's choice to make, and why is he being given this additional risk, when the benefit/loss should clearly be yours?