Questions to ask any joint replacement surgeon.

Why we published this

Any practice can tell you it delivers excellent care. Useful questions are the ones whose answers actually differ between surgeons, and you're entitled to ask all of them. Dr. Seem answers these for his own practice below, but the list is designed to travel: take it to any consultation, including a second opinion.

About experience and focus

1. Is joint replacement the core of your practice, or one of many things you do? Focused practice matters; in surgery, repetition builds judgment.
2. Are you fellowship-trained in adult reconstruction? That's a full extra year devoted specifically to hip and knee replacement, including the difficult ones.
3. Do you perform revisions? A surgeon who repairs failed replacements has seen exactly how primaries fail, knowledge that flows backward into doing the first operation well.
4. Who actually performs my operation? Ask who makes the cuts, and who is in the room from incision to closure.

About the plan for you

1. Why this implant, for me? There should be a reason connected to your anatomy and your life, not just “it's what we use.”
2. Why this approach (anterior, posterior, robotic, navigated)? Every approach has trade-offs; what you want to hear is why this one fits your case.
3. What alignment philosophy do you use for knees, and why? A surgeon should be able to explain, in plain words, how they decide what “straight” means for your leg.
4. What are my specific risks? Your health, weight, bone quality, and history shift the odds. Generic risk lists are the start of the answer, not the end.

About what happens after

1. Will I go home the same day? What decides that?
2. Who do I call at 8 pm on a Saturday if something worries me? The answer tells you a lot about how a practice thinks about recovery.
3. How do you follow my recovery between visits? This is where connected tools, apps, and in select knees a smart implant, either exist or don't.
4. When do you see me again, and what would make you want to see me sooner?

Questions that sound tough, and completely fair

• “What's your infection rate, and what do you do to keep it low?”
• “When was the last time a patient of yours needed a reoperation, and why?” Every busy surgeon has honest answers here; what you're listening for is candor.
• “If my case turned out to be harder than expected, what would you do differently?”
• “Would you send your own parent to the facility where I'll have surgery?”