Choosing a Surgeon

Help for Making an Informed Decision

When choosing an orthopaedic surgeon, it helps to know something about how to compare the training and experience of the different orthopaedic surgeons who are available to you. Below are some suggestions of what type of information you should know and some things the surgeon you choose will need to know about you.

What You Should Know
Surgeon Training
Board Certification
Fellowship Training

What Your Surgeon Needs to Know
Personal Preparation

What You Should Know

Surgeon Training
Orthopaedic surgeons are medical doctors or osteopaths, meaning they:

• Attend medical school for 4 years after college to receive an MD degree or a DO (Doctor of Osteopathy) degree
• Complete a "residency" in orthopaedics at medical centers where they learn to operate and perfect their surgical skills under the guidance of the professors of orthopaedic surgery
• Begin practice after obtaining "surgical privileges" at the hospitals where surgery will be performed
• The surgeon’s background and training are checked extensively

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Board Certification
The American Board of Orthopaedic Surgeons (ABOS) certifies orthopaedic surgeons. To become "board certified" (following completion of a residency program and two years after entering practice) the orthopaedic surgeon must first pass a written test, then complete an extensive oral examination that includes the presentation of the results of the surgical procedures performed to date for a team of orthopaedic surgeons’ review.

To maintain "board certification," the surgeon must take an additional test every 10 years and prove that he or she has attended a minimum number of hours of continuing education.

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Fellowship Training
Many orthopaedic surgeons choose to obtain special training in a specific area of orthopaedic surgery. This requires a "fellowship" that usually lasts 6 months to one year. During the fellowship, the orthopaedic surgeon works with one or several experts in a specialized field of orthopaedic surgery to become even more experienced in certain areas, such as joint replacement, spinal surgery, hand surgery, children’s orthopaedics or sports medicine, to name a few. Following resident or fellowship training, some orthopaedic surgeons limit their practice to those areas they are specialized in.

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What Your Surgeon Needs to Know

Personal Preparation
Some preparation before your visit to the orthopaedic surgeon can help make your visit go more smoothly. Below are some suggestions of what type of information to bring with you to an appointment.

• Medical history, both recent and past, including:
• Other medical conditions
• Previous surgeries
• Previous injuries
• Previous tests to assess your symptoms
• Allergies
• Family history of OA
• Medications, including dosage and strength
• Nutritional supplements, including vitamins and herbal remedies
• Names and addresses of all doctors who are currently treating you
• Any previous radiographic studies related to the joint in question

Providing this information may help your orthopaedic surgeon more quickly assess your situation—leaving more time to discuss your symptoms and activity level.

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Next: Pre-Surgery Information