Doctors are human, and at some point in our careers, we say things that are either untrue or that we wish we hadn’t. I have probably heard them all. They are usually uttered by surgeons, but plenty of medical docs who perform invasive procedures are just as guilty. Here are my top ten for the worst ones uttered. If you hear any of them, run away and get a second opinion.
I’ve never lost one patient with this surgery. If the surgeon has only done two or three of them, it may be possible. However, if they brag about it, ask them how many they have performed. If that number is in the hundreds or thousands, this is virtually impossible. Even the most low-risk operations still carry a one-half to one percent risk of dying from the surgery or anesthesia. While death usually occurs in elderly or the most sick individuals, bad things can happen without warning to anyone.
I have a 100% success rate. This assertion is even more ludicrous than the first one. The patient may survive, or his tumor might be removed, but they might be left with a stroke or a heart attack. In medicine, we used to have a saying about this: “The operation was…
