Weird to request second opinion from surgeon in same clinic?

September 3, 2024 2:36 PM

I have surgery scheduled in a few weeks. I have become aware that it might be better to have this done by someone with specific expertise in my condition, and they have a guy with this expertise in the same clinic. Is it weird to ask him to give a second opinion? It would be a lot faster since they already have my records and this surgery needs to happen soon. I guess I'm worried that he'll say nah, you're fine with the first guy, and then the first guy will be offended. I may be overthinking but I am also super stressed and don't want the stress of feeling unsure of my relationship with my surgeon. Please talk me through this.
posted by HotToddy to Health & Fitness (8 answers total)

I'm a doctor and I encourage folks to get second opinions all the time! Anyone who would be offended by that cares more about their ego than your well-being.

Keep in mind, though, a second opinion at the same practice may not be possible. Ideally for a second opinion you want someone to come to your situation with fresh eyes, and since they'll already have their colleague's notes, they won't be able to give you a truly fresh perspective. This may matter less for your type of surgery, but I wanted to bring it up.

That's before getting into the logistics of whether insurance will pay for a second opinion at the same practice. Usually not. If you are in a more enlightened medical system than the US, please disregard.
posted by basalganglia at 2:52 PM on September 3 [7 favorites]

Is it actually a second opinion you want (which to me means you want them to give you their own diagnosis to see if it matches the first), or is it that you accept the diagnosis/treatment recommendation you already have, and just want the other guy to do the procedure because of his expertise?

To me those are two different things, which probably have different processes/norms, though possibly I’m wrong and/or terminology is different where you are.
posted by penguin pie at 3:32 PM on September 3 [7 favorites]

Given that they work together, I would actually start by asking the first doctor what they think. As you're imagining, they're going to be aware of this if you do do it, so you might as well just jump in. "Hello Dr. One, I'm scheduled to have surgery with you on [Date] for [Condition]. I noticed that Dr. Two specializes in [Condition]: do you think it would make sense for me to have a consultation with him prior to surgery?" I would guess Dr. One is themself already all over consulting with Dr. Two, unless your specific manifestation is in fact mainstream enough that anyone in the field can handle it. Sometimes that is the case! I once got a second second opinion because I was so anxiously convinced I needed a subspecialist, and both of the other surgeons shrugged and said they'd be happy to put me on their schedule but really I didn't need to be there. The original surgeon acknowledged that it was a somewhat unique procedure for him but he was glad his colleagues agreed he could handle it based on prior experience, and he did a great job. In any case though, even if your Dr. One says you don't need the consult, you might decide you disagree with them and still want to do it, and then it at least won't come out of the blue when Dr. Two gets involved.
posted by teremala at 3:48 PM on September 3 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: penguin pie, primarily I want someone with experience doing this exact surgery, and a subspecialist would have this.
posted by HotToddy at 3:54 PM on September 3

Okay, so you're not exactly looking for a second opinion. You're looking for the best doctor for this particular operation.

I think the most graceful way to do this would be to tell Dr. One that, as there is a specialist available, you'd be more comfortable with them. That is a clear motivation that anyone can understand, and if Dr. One decides to take offense then that is very much Dr. One's problem.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 5:05 PM on September 3 [3 favorites]

It may also result in substantial rescheduling delay-do you want the person to perform the procedure or be available?
posted by childofTethys at 7:12 PM on September 3 [1 favorite]

I've done this. Unfortunately I later realized that the second surgeon wasn't going to contradict the first surgeon, as the first surgeon was her boss. But nobody seemed to think it was at all odd -- I got the impression it was a common practice.
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:23 AM on September 4

Agreed that it's best to go to an outside practice for a second opinion - 2 doctors in the same practice are not going to contradict each other, at least not publicly/patient-facing.
posted by bahama mama at 7:36 AM on September 6