Before Going Under the Knife, Check Up on Doctor’s Orders

So, your doctor recommended surgery?

It’s a refrain heard often; in this country alone, there are some 25 million surgeries a year.

It’s also the title of a new book by Dr. John Lewis, a retired Santa Barbara surgeon who urges patients on their way to the operating room to think twice--at least--before agreeing to surgery.

“A doctor’s intentions are usually good,” Lewis writes in “So Your Doctor Recommended Surgery”(W.W. Norton, 1990, $22.50). “Your doctor probably believes he is acting in your best interest when he recommends surgery, but there are times--unfortunately too many--when this proves not to be so.”

The most overdone surgeries? “Tonsillectomy, Cesarean section, hysterectomy, coronary artery bypass, gallbladder removal, hemorrhoidectomy and middle-ear ventilation,” Lewis told The Times in a recent interview.

“Some data suggests that up to half of coronary artery bypass surgeries, for instance, are unnecessary,” Lewis said. And other studies find that certain surgeries are done far more often in some parts of the country than in others, he said.

When doctors recommend surgery, Lewis has these recommendations for patients: “Ask why the surgery is needed. Ask, ‘What happens if I don’t have the operation?’ Get a second opinion.”

Patients considering surgery also can request a series of free brochures titled “When You Need an Operation.” The four-part series from the American College of Surgeons includes information on second opinions, costs, informed consent and surgeons’ credentials. Write: ACS, Public Information Office, 55 East Erie St., Chicago, Ill. 60611.

“In the present medical environment,” Lewis added, “the patient has to take responsibility. And that’s not likely to change.”