Use this page to help guide the questions you ask your surgeon (or prospective surgeon) before total gastrectomy. Bring a pen, and possibly a notebook, to your appointment. You can print and fill in answers below each question and should feel free to add any other questions that you may want answered.
- How many total gastrectomy operations do you perform each year?
- Will I meet with a registered dietitian before surgery? (Meeting with a registered dietitian before surgery is as important as meeting with one after.)
- What are some of the anticipated complications of this operation?
- What is your personal complication rate with this operation? (Most surgeons keep track of their own complications, or their hospital likely does, and they will be forthcoming about their own outcomes and how they manage them.)
- What will my follow-up with you be? (If the surgeon will not be your primary point of contact for follow-up after surgery, make sure to ask who will be responsible for your post-gastrectomy care.)
- Do you check margins in the operating room to confirm that all gastric tissue has been removed? (For patients with CDH1, this answer should be yes as recommended by an international group of experts.)
- Do you routinely place a feeding tube during this operation?
- How often do you observe esophageal strictures after this operation? (An esophageal stricture is an abnormal tightening or narrowing of the esophagus.)
- How long can I expect to be in the hospital?
- Can I speak to other patients who have had this operation with you?