QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE YOUR NF SURGERY

Questions to Ask Before Your NF Surgery

Surgery doesn’t have to be scary. One of the best ways to reduce your fear is to empower yourself with information - but don’t turn to Dr. Google. You will only read the worse case scenarios on the internet. Instead, check out our new resource with a list of questions you can ask your surgeon at your next appointment. Knowing what to expect during the surgery and recovery will help you feel more confident.

The following are a sample of questions that you may want to ask your surgeon about your or your child’s upcoming NF surgery. You may find it helpful to download this list to take to your next appointment and write down the answers. You can also add your own questions.

Treatment Options

  1. What surgical and non-surgical options are available for my current diagnosis?
  2. What are the benefits and risks for all available surgical and non-surgical options?
  3. What is the success rate for each of these options?
  4. What will happen if I refuse all of these options?
  5. Are there any additional treatment options available outside of BC or Canada that I could pursue?

Procedure

  1. How many of these operations have you performed on patients with NF?
  2. What have been the outcomes of these surgeries on your patients with NF?
  3. What will happen during this surgical procedure and how long will the procedure take?
  4. How do you define the success of this surgery?
  5. What is the recurrence rate for my diagnosis following the procedure?
  6. Does this surgery require a hospital stay? If so, for how long?

Post-Surgery

  1. Are there any short term or long term, minor or major complications that can happen during or after the surgery?
  2. What will happen if these complications occur? How long lasting are the effects of the potential complications?
  3. Which complications should I report away? Who do I call?
  4. How will pain after surgery be managed?
  5. Will this surgery affect the activities of my daily life? If so, for how long?
  6. When are the follow-up visits scheduled and with whom?