Best-kept secrets of surgeons around the world

“When I was training, I was almost always in the hospital. Now it’s more like shift work. ‘Hey, it’s 7 p.m. I’m out of here. He’s your problem now.’” —Sid Schwab, MD

Some orthopedic surgeons make millions in soft consulting agreements with device manufacturers.

“Sometimes the same doctors have performed a record number of implants for that company.” —Marty Makary, MD

“If so, chances are you’re going to get that type of joint or screw, even if it’s more expensive or not the most appropriate.” —James Rickert, MD.

“I operated on a man who had something very complex and died in the operating room. He had a wife and two children. When I came out to tell them, the children were screaming, ‘Mommy, Mommy, I want my daddy.’ That was very hard. Even though we present ourselves as very strong, we’re vulnerable to depression and other problems. We’re human.” —A surgeon in Florida

“It was very meaningful. Letters are a good reminder of how important this is and how people entrust themselves to us. I save every one.” —Marc Gillinov, MD

“But we do. We care deeply. Those of us who are spiritual pray for our patients. My family and I pray for my patients at dinner the night before surgery.” —Kathy Magliato, MD

“Because of a checklist, I looked at the imaging again and thought, Yikes! What am I doing? Thankfully, I caught the mistake before I even draped the patient, and no harm was done, but I felt horrible about it. It was more than a year ago, and I still think about it.” —Kevin B. Jones, MD

“But unless you ask, your surgeon is not going to tell you that he was up all night on call before your procedure and that he may not be in tip-top form.” —Paul Ruggieri, MD

I always ask at national conferences of doctors, ‘How many of you know of another doctor who should not be practicing medicine because he is too dangerous?’

“Every hand goes up.” —Marty Makary, MD

“I’ll go in on an eyelid or a nose, and it’s just a mess. If you don’t tell us you had lipo, there will be scar tissue, and the fat won’t come out normally. So please be 100 percent honest. There’s no need to be embarrassed. We’ve heard it all, and we don’t judge.” —Andrew Ordon, MD, cohost of the television show The Doctors and a board-certified plastic surgeon.