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The questions to ask, at the stage you are at

Most people leave a consultation realising too late what they should have asked. These are 490 questions pulled from every guide in the library and sorted by when you need them. Print the stage you are at, or open it on your phone in the waiting room.

Every one of these is a fair question that a hospital can answer. If a question is brushed aside, treated as rude, or answered with “trust us” — that is information too.

25 operations covered

Before surgery

Confirm the operation is really needed, that you understand the alternatives, and that the price you were quoted is the price you will pay.

Surgery safety

Anaesthesia: the questions that make your operation safer

  • Who will be giving my anaesthetic, and will that person stay in the theatre for the whole operation?
  • What type of anaesthesia are you planning for me, and why that one?
  • What in my own health history makes my risk higher, and can any of it be improved before the operation?
  • Exactly what time should I stop solid food, and exactly what time should I stop clear water?
  • Which of my regular tablets do I take on the morning of surgery, and which do I stop, and when?
  • Will I be monitored in a recovery area afterwards, and is an ICU or HDU bed likely to be needed?
  • Is the anaesthetist's fee inside the package I have been quoted, or billed separately?
Read the full guide
Is surgery needed now?

Back pain and spine surgery: the red flags, and why most backs get better without an operation

  • Do I have any red flag signs that make this urgent?
  • Can you show me the finding on my scan that explains my symptoms?
  • What exactly is the operation called, how many levels, and will implants be used?
  • Will this fix my leg pain, my back pain, or both, and what percentage improvement is realistic?
  • What happens if I do six to eight weeks of proper physiotherapy first?
  • What are the chances I need another spine operation in future?
  • What is the total cost including implants?
Read the full guide
Is surgery needed now?

Caesarean or normal delivery: what to ask when you are told you need a C-section

  • What exactly is the medical reason for the caesarean in my case?
  • Is this an emergency right now, or do we have time to discuss it?
  • What are the risks to me and my baby if we wait and allow labour?
  • Who will perform the surgery and who will be present for the baby?
  • Can I have skin-to-skin contact with my baby immediately if we are both well?
  • What is the total cost, and how does it compare with the normal delivery package?
Read the full guide
Common operation

Cataract: when to have it done, and how the lens gets sold to you

  • Is my vision bad enough that surgery will genuinely improve my daily life?
  • Which lens do you recommend for me, and what specifically does it do that a monofocal will not?
  • How much astigmatism do I have on measurement?
  • Is my retina healthy, and what vision can I realistically expect?
  • Will I still need glasses, and for what?
  • What anaesthesia will I have, and will I be awake?
  • What does the quote include, and what is extra?
Read the full guide
Rights guide

Consent, records and your rights: what you can insist on before you sign

  • What exactly is my diagnosis, and what is the specific operation you are recommending?
  • Out of a hundred patients like me having this, how many benefit, how many have a complication, and how many end up worse?
  • What are my options other than surgery, including waiting and watching with a review date?
  • If I take one week to decide, what specifically gets worse?
  • Who will perform the operation, and how many of these does this unit do in a year?
  • Will anything be removed that will not grow back, and can that be written into the consent?
  • If this were your own parent, what would you do, and why?
Read the full guide
Common operation

Gallstones: found on a scan but no symptoms? Here is what the guidelines actually say

  • Are my stones actually causing my symptoms, or were they found incidentally?
  • If I have no symptoms, why is surgery being advised rather than observation?
  • If my main problem is bloating and gas, what is the chance that continues after surgery?
  • Have my liver tests and bile ducts been checked?
  • What is the chance of converting from keyhole to open surgery?
  • What is the total cost, and what does the package exclude?
Read the full guide
Before you book

Hair transplant: who is actually holding the instrument, and why that decides your risk

  • Which registered doctor will make the incisions and place the grafts, and what is their registration number?
  • Will technicians perform any surgical step, and if so which ones?
  • How many patients will that doctor be operating on at the same time, in how many rooms?
  • What is my total local anaesthetic dose, and how does it compare with the safe limit for my weight?
  • What emergency equipment and drugs are here, and which hospital do you transfer to?
  • What is my total donor supply, and what remains for future loss after this session?
  • Should I be on medical treatment first, and why or why not?
  • What is the total cost, and what is not included?
Read the full guide
Is surgery needed now?

Heart stent and angioplasty: when it saves your life, and when you have time to think

  • Am I having a heart attack right now, or is this stable disease?
  • If it is stable, what happens if I try optimal medicines for a few months first?
  • What test showed that this blockage is actually limiting my blood flow?
  • How many stents are planned, and can the decision wait until my family has seen the findings?
  • Has a cardiac surgeon reviewed whether bypass would serve me better?
  • What is the total cost including stents, and what is the ceiling price of the stent you plan to use?
Read the full guide
Decision guide

How to get a second opinion that is actually independent

  • How long do I safely have to decide, and what specifically changes if I wait?
  • May I have your recommendation in writing, with the reasons?
  • May I have copies of all my reports and the actual imaging files?
  • Which of these tests will need repeating, and which will another doctor accept?
  • Is there any non-surgical option for my condition that we have not tried?
Read the full guide
Is surgery needed now?

Hysterectomy: how to know whether you really need your uterus removed

  • Is there any suspicion of cancer in my case?
  • What happens if I wait three months and treat this with medicine first?
  • Can this be treated while keeping my uterus? If not, what specifically rules that out?
  • Are my ovaries being removed, and what is the reason?
  • Which route is planned, and why that route for me?
  • How many of these do you do, and what is your own complication rate?
  • What is the total estimated cost including implants, medicines and follow-up?
Read the full guide
Rights guide

Implants, stents and lenses: the prices that are capped by law, and how to check yours

  • Do I definitely need an implant, and what happens if I do not have one?
  • What is the make, model and price of the implant you propose, in writing?
  • Is this implant within the notified ceiling price, and may I see the printed maximum retail price?
  • Is the standard option under a price cap while the premium one is not?
  • What is the evidence that the premium option is better for someone of my age and activity level?
  • What are the disadvantages of the premium option?
  • Will my insurance cover this implant in full, and if not, how much is mine to pay?
Read the full guide
Common operation

Kidney stones: the size decides, not the pain

  • How many millimetres is my stone and exactly where is it?
  • What is the chance it passes on its own, and is a trial of observation safe for me?
  • Is there any obstruction or infection right now?
  • Which procedure do you recommend and why that one for my stone?
  • What is the stone-free rate, and how likely is a second procedure?
  • Will a stent be placed, and when will it be removed?
Read the full guide
Is surgery needed now?

Knee arthroscopy for a degenerative meniscus tear: what happened when it was tested against fake surgery

  • Is my tear degenerative or traumatic, and how do you know?
  • Can my knee be fully straightened on examination, and was a mechanical block demonstrated?
  • How do the sham-controlled trials of meniscectomy apply to my case?
  • Do I have osteoarthritis, and what grade is it?
  • Is this operation for the tear or for the arthritis?
  • How much meniscus will be removed, and could it be repaired instead?
  • What happens if I do three months of supervised exercise first?
  • What is the total cost, and is pre-authorisation confirmed in writing?
Read the full guide
Is surgery needed now?

Knee replacement: how to know whether it is time, and what to try first

  • Have I genuinely completed a proper trial of physiotherapy and weight management?
  • What happens if I wait six months?
  • What implant will be used, what does it cost, and is that within the government ceiling price?
  • Am I a candidate for partial knee replacement or osteotomy instead?
  • One knee or both, and why?
  • How many of these operations do you perform each year, and what is your infection rate?
  • What must my blood sugar and haemoglobin be before surgery is safe?
Read the full guide
Before you book

Liposuction and lipo 360: the volume, the setting and the clot risk nobody mentions in the advertisement

  • What total volume in millilitres do you expect to remove, and does that cross the five-litre threshold?
  • If it does, what inpatient facility and overnight monitoring is arranged?
  • What is my formal clot risk score, and what exactly will be done to prevent a clot?
  • Who is the anaesthetist, and will they be present for the entire procedure?
  • Is this facility licensed for this level of surgery, and does it have inpatient beds?
  • Which hospital do you transfer to, how far is it, and is there a written arrangement?
  • Is my skin elasticity good enough for liposuction alone?
  • Would staging this into two sessions make it safer, and by how much?
  • What do I pay if a complication needs readmission or revision?
Read the full guide
Is surgery needed now?

Neck pain, pinched nerve and cervical spine surgery: the one diagnosis where waiting is wrong

  • Is my spinal cord compressed, or is this a nerve root problem?
  • Do I have any signs of myelopathy on examination?
  • Which level and side is the finding at, and does it match my symptoms?
  • Would this scan look abnormal in someone my age without symptoms?
  • How many levels are you proposing to operate on, and why each one?
  • Is this expected to help my arm pain, my neck pain, or to prevent deterioration?
  • What happens if I wait eight more weeks with proper physiotherapy?
  • What implant will be used, what does it cost, and can I have that in writing?
Read the full guide
Women's health

Ovarian cysts: most disappear on their own, and the ovary is worth fighting for

  • Is my cyst described as simple on the scan report?
  • When in my cycle was the scan done, and should we repeat it after my next period?
  • Are you removing the cyst or the ovary, and what would change that?
  • What will this do to my ovarian reserve and future fertility?
  • Does anything about this cyst suggest cancer, and if so, what specifically?
  • Should this be done by a specialist team, and if so, which?
  • What happens if I wait three months?
Read the full guide
Common operation

Piles, fissure and fistula: which ones settle without an operation

  • Exactly which condition do I have, and if it is piles, which grade?
  • What non-surgical treatments are appropriate for me, and how long should I try them?
  • Which procedure are you recommending, and why that one for my grade of disease?
  • What does it do to the muscle that controls continence, and what is the risk?
  • What is the recurrence rate for this procedure in my situation?
  • Do I need a colonoscopy, and if not, why not?
Read the full guide
Is surgery needed now?

Shoulder pain and impingement: the operation that placebo surgery matched

  • What exactly is my diagnosis, and what examination finding supports it?
  • What do you expect this operation to achieve that supervised exercise would not?
  • How do the placebo-controlled trials of decompression apply to me?
  • Do I have a full-thickness tear, and was it caused by an injury?
  • Is my problem pain or true weakness?
  • How many weeks in a sling, and how many months of physiotherapy afterwards?
  • What happens if I do three more months of supervised exercise first?
  • What is the total cost including implants, anaesthesia and physiotherapy?
Read the full guide
Safety guide

Surgical site infection: what actually prevents it, and what you can insist on

  • Will hair be removed, and will clippers be used rather than a razor?
  • Will the preventive antibiotic be given within sixty minutes before the first cut?
  • Will my blood sugar be monitored during and after the operation, and what target are you aiming for?
  • Will I be actively kept warm during surgery?
  • Should this operation be postponed because of the infection or cough I currently have?
  • Does this unit track its own infection rate for this operation?
Read the full guide
Rights guide

The estimate said one thing and the bill said another: how to stop it before it happens

  • May I have a written, itemised estimate for this operation?
  • What is excluded from this package, and under what circumstances does the price change?
  • Are the surgeon's and anaesthetist's fees inside this figure?
  • How many days does this package assume, and what is charged per day beyond that?
  • Which room category am I eligible for under my policy, and does room category change any other charge?
  • If a complication occurs, is its treatment covered under this package, and for how long?
  • May I see the printed rate list for rooms, investigations and procedures?
Read the full guide
Common operation

Tonsils and adenoids: the numbers that justify surgery in a child

  • How many documented episodes does my child have, and how does that compare with the guideline thresholds?
  • Is this being done for infections or for breathing during sleep?
  • Does my child need a sleep study, and if not, why not?
  • Exactly which structures will be removed, and why each one?
  • Has a hearing test been done, and are grommets planned?
  • What benefit should I realistically expect, and for how long?
  • What is the bleeding risk, and what do I do if it happens at home?
Read the full guide
Women's health

Uterine fibroids: most need nothing, and the uterus is rarely the only option

  • How many fibroids do I have, what size, and where exactly are they?
  • Are any of them submucosal, inside the cavity?
  • What is my haemoglobin, and do I need iron treatment?
  • Which non-surgical options are suitable for me, and why not the others?
  • If I want to keep my uterus, what are my options and what are their success rates?
  • Are my ovaries being removed, and if so, why?
  • What is likely to happen to my fibroids and symptoms after menopause?
Read the full guide

Works for every operation

If your surgery is not in the library yet

These apply to any procedure, anywhere. They are the five things that decide whether an operation was necessary, safe, honestly priced and properly consented.

1

Whether you need this operation at all

  • What happens if I do nothing for three months? Name the specific risk.
  • Is this an emergency, is it urgent, or is it planned? Say which one.
  • What non-surgical treatment exists, and why is it not right for me?
  • Which test result or examination finding makes surgery necessary?
  • How many people with my exact findings get better without surgery?
2

Who operates, and with what experience

  • Who performs the operation, and will that person be present for all of it?
  • What is their qualification in this specific procedure?
  • Will any part be done by a trainee, and who supervises?
  • Who gives the anaesthetic, and are they a qualified anaesthetist?
  • How many of these do you do in a year?
3

Money, in writing, before you sign

  • Give me a written estimate that includes implants, ICU and consumables.
  • What is not covered by that estimate?
  • What happens to the price if I stay longer than planned?
  • Which implant or device are you using, and what does it cost?
  • If my insurance rejects part of this, what do I owe?
4

Consent that is actually informed

  • What are the three most common complications, and how often do they happen here?
  • What is the worst realistic outcome?
  • Can I take the consent form home and read it before signing?
  • Can I have a copy of everything I sign?
  • Am I allowed a second opinion first? (You always are.)
5

Recovery, said out loud before you agree

  • How many days off work, honestly?
  • What will I not be able to do, and for how long?
  • What follow-up is included, and what is charged separately?
  • Which symptoms after discharge mean I should come back immediately?
  • Who do I call at 2am if something goes wrong?

Long-form checklists

Written checklists with the reasoning included

These explain why each question matters, which helps if you are the family member doing the asking.

Surgery checklist

Hernia surgery: questions to ask before admission

A simple patient-family checklist for consent, anesthesia, billing clarity, infection prevention, and discharge.

4 min read
Two things this page cannot do. It cannot tell you whether you need surgery — only an examination and your reports can. And it is not a reason to delay: some conditions get dangerous quickly, and each guide says so at the top. If your symptoms are severe or sudden, stop reading and call 112 or 108.