Be curious patient before going under knife

Before undergoing any surgery, ask questions, lots of them. That's the advice from Dr. Aage Moller, a physiologist at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Here are some questions that every patient should ask:

--How do I know I have the disease for which the operation is aimed? (A diagnosis can be wrong.)

--How do I know the surgery offers the greatest benefits and fewest side effects?

--What benefit will I have from the surgery?

--Has the operation been shown to give a better or longer life and are there studies to support that?

--What are the immediate and long-term risks?

--Any nonsurgical options?

--Ask the surgeon how many times he or she has performed this operation. If it's a small number, find another surgeon.

--If the surgery may put nerves, the spinal cord or the brain at risk of injury, ask whether the surgeon uses intra-operative neurophysiologic monitoring. If not, find another doctor.