We all want an experienced surgeon, of course, but are you sure your surgeon is experienced enough?

In a recent article published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, patients with prostate cancer who have a prostatectomy performed by a more experienced surgeon tend to have better outcomes.

A prostatectomy involves removal of the prostate gland and surrounding tissue. A study was done to evaluate the total number of prostatectomies a surgeon has performed and if this indeed had influence on recurrence rates.

It seems so, patients who had a surgeon that performed less than 10 prior prostatectomies had a recurrence rate of 18 percent. Patients who had a surgeon that performed over 250 prostatectomies had recurrence rates of only 10 percent.

I think the take home message here is, no matter what kind of surgery you are getting -- ask your surgeon how many times they have done this specific procedure. If it seems very low you might want to consult another surgeon who has more experience.