Questions to ask Vascular Surgeon

[RCA]

We (mom and I) are visiting the vascular surgeon in 2 weeks to discuss peritoneal catheter surgery. 

What questions should I ask the surgeon about his experience? 
What questions should I ask the surgeon about the surgery?
What questions should I ask the surgeon about recovery and complications? 

I like to go in prepared...otherwise, my mind goes blank when I'm in the office: )   

[Wallyz]

Ask him or her to tell you about the first time they performed the surgery and who they learned their technique from.  Ask them about difficult surgeries they have had, what they did to complete the surgery and the outcome of that surgery.
Ask the Surgeon about the three most likely complications, what to look for,and what to do in case of those complications. Ask him or her to give you a recovery time frame,and also an idea of what fully recovered means to her or him.

Best I got.  Blessings and prayers over the surgery

[Restorer]

Ask him to show you, on your body, where he usually places the exit site. Make sure you can get the exit site significantly higher or lower than your belt line, to minimize rubbing.

Ask him what the contingency plan would be if the catheter failed to work. For me the catheter failed to drain at all once I began using it two weeks after surgery. Fixing it required an X-ray, then laparoscopy to determine how it was blocked/tangled, and completely replacing the catheter during that laparoscopic surgery.

[RCA]

Thanks Restorer and Wallyz!  I didn't consider some of the questions you brought up!  I'll definitely bring those questions with me to the appointment!

[TheSpleen]

We (mom and I) are visiting the vascular surgeon in 2 weeks to discuss peritoneal catheter surgery. 

What questions should I ask the surgeon about his experience? 
What questions should I ask the surgeon about the surgery?
What questions should I ask the surgeon about recovery and complications? 

I like to go in prepared...otherwise, my mind goes blank when I'm in the office: )   

Just curious, any idea why you're seeing a vascular surgeon for this procedure? We're seeing a vascular surgeon to look into creating a graft/fistula for hemodialysis, but we're going through general surgery to talk about a PD catheter.

[RCA]

Spleen,

The doctor that we're going to is listed as both vascular surgeon as well as general surgeon and he has had experience with both procedures.  I guess it's not that improtant if you see a general surgeon vs. vascular surgeon for the PD catheter placement...it's more important if they've had experience with PD catheter placement : ) 

[Restorer]

Spleen, same here. Maybe it's because, around here, the vascular surgeon is always placing fistulas (lots of old people around here). Maybe that means he's more competent/experienced at performing surgery on people with little kidney function.

[george40]

having just been through cath placement twice, I would ask about their technique. The first attempt, the surgeoon tried to blindly place my cath and he couldn't get the catheter to go where it needed to go. The second attempt (a week later) went very well as he had to do it laproscopically.

Also, let the surgeon know what side you want the cath to exit on. Make sure you discuss your beltline so the cath is not placed where you usually wear your belt. I hope this info helps.