Thank you, that is indeed useful. I've been doing a kind of crappy and ad-hoc version of 1 and 3, although the latter (and recommendations in general) has been

Thank you, that is indeed useful. I've been doing a kind of crappy and ad-hoc version of 1 and 3, although the latter (and recommendations in general) has been less useful than I thought, since the GPs I know aren't in a great position to evaluate orthopedic surgeons -- their experience is limited, and they also lack data; but also because I can get a strong rec from someone I trust to a surgeon that my insurance won't cover. But that's a whole nother topic. Your systematicity in the search is inspiring, though. Thanks for the advice.