Finding the Right Surgeon

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Ask A Neurosurgeon

November 12, 2023 : From the Ask A Neurosurgeon video series. Dr. McLaughlin answers the question, "How do you find a top flight surgeon in your local area?" Basic tips and hints to hunting down the most qualified surgeons in your location.

Question:
I've seen your website, and I'm very impressed. Unfortunately, I live on the West Coast, and there is realistically no way that I can come to Princeton for you to treat me. What are the things I should be looking for when I'm trying to find a surgeon out here who can offer top-flight care?

Answer:
Sure. So, you have been diagnosed with a surgical condition, and perhaps either you think you need surgery or someone has already recommended surgery for you, and you want to find the right surgeon. That’s a very common question that I get.

Your first resource, I think, should be your primary care doctor. Almost always, your primary care doctor, unless you have some sort of a rare condition, more likely is going to know who the surgeons in the area are that provide service for this. So, that would be where I would start.

Then, I would take a look at the hospitals in your area and see where they’re specializing—see what they’re specializing in. You want to go to a hospital that has an ICU in the area that you have an affliction. So, if it’s a neurological disease, you want to go to a hospital that probably has a neurosurgical or a neuroscience ICU, particularly if you’re going to have something extensive.

Other things that you want to look for and look around for is, again, talk to other patients and patients in the community, friends, and find out what the reputation is of the people that are working with you. So, those would be where I would start.

I think looking at that surgeon’s training, looking at their background and their experience, is very helpful. Those would be the sorts of things that I would look for.

If you have friends who are nurses, they can be great resources for who the physicians are that they would like to go to. And that’s what I would ask a nurse: “What surgeon would you go to?” Because typically, they know the surgeons that are not only the most qualified but often the ones that are most approachable and have the best outcomes.