Questions
What to ask before agreeing to a procedure — asked in the order that makes the answers useful.
The value of a question depends on when you ask it. These are ordered so that each one makes the next one meaningful.
Before the consultation
- What is the working diagnosis, and what evidence supports it?
- Which of my symptoms does it explain, and which does it not?
- What else could produce this picture?
At the recommendation
- What specific finding is the procedure meant to address?
- What has already been tried, for how long, and how was the result measured?
- What is the success rate in your own hands, and how is success defined?
- What are the complications you personally see most often?
About the alternative
- What happens if I wait for an interval agreed with my clinician, in the most likely case?
- What would I be giving up by waiting?
- Is there a narrower version of this procedure?
About the evidence
- Has anyone else read the images themselves?
- Can I have a copy of the imaging and the report?
- What would make you change this recommendation?
Before you agree to knee surgery: seven questions, and what the trials actually found
What to ask when arthroscopic knee surgery is offered for a degenerative tear — and the trial evidence on surgery versus structured physiotherapy, including the number that matters most for deciding.