When you are considering any surgery, it is important to carefully select the surgeon who will perform your operation and to talk openly with him or her about the facts of your individual condition and all the questions you may have.

The following are among the questions you should ask when choosing a doctor and deciding upon surgery. Remember, you are the most important member of your own healthcare team.

• What level of training in laparoscopic surgery does the doctor you are considering have? Does that training meet or exceed the levels in the COST study on laparoscopy and colon cancer.
• Where was the training received?
• How many laparoscopic-assisted colon surgeries has the doctor performed?
• How many laparoscopic-assisted colon cancer surgeries has the doctor performed?
• Does the doctor have reliable data on the patients he or she has treated?
• What percentage of all patients the doctor treats has colorectal disease?
• Is the particular kind of cancer that you have suited to treatment with laparoscopic surgery?
• What are the possible side effects or complications of the procedure?

If you are not completely satisfied with the answers you receive to these and all your questions, seek the advice of another colorectal surgeon.