How can one know how many surgeries a doctor has performed? read that when getting a thyroidectomy, it is very important to know how many thyroidectomies the surgeon has performed. the more surgeries, the less the risk of complication.

The : The short answer to your question is: you can't. In fact, i don't think any surgeon actually knows exactly how many surgeries they did. You lose track after a while. In finding a qualified surgeon, one good measure of competence is board certification. In order to get board certified, a surgeon needs to have performed a certain number of procedures of varying kinds, and the only way to do that is to have performed a lot of procedures. In most major medical centers, you'll even find surgeons who only perform thyroidectomies. It's always been my opinion that operating room nurses are the single best source of referral for a surgeon. They see everything, the mistakes, the attitudes, the rescues to other surgeons when things go bad... You can't hide anything from an or nurse! if it's at all possible to ask around and get the opinion and recommendation from an or nurse, you're as assured as you can ever possibly be of getting the best surgeon for yourself. Good luck!

This : This is a difficult question to answer, as there are no specific sites that record the number of surgical procedures that one surgeon performs. A board certified general surgeon or an ENT surgeon usually indicates a surgeon who maintains a degree of current knowledge and expertise that usually includes thyroid surgery. Your state medical board may have some quality reports, and your insurance company may also know specialists in your area that have experience in thyroid surgery. Maybe the best way is to ask your family physician who is good, and also ask your surgeon their experience. You can also get more than one surgical opinion as well, asking each one their experience. I also agree with the previous doctor's answer who said that asking a local hospital nurse can be very helpful.