Do I have the right to ask MD.....

[Rainae 22]

So I read a post about googling your doc and reading reviews. All the reviews on my surgeon going back to 2003 are great and fit in with everything I have heard about him. According to his office, he has done over 5000 procedures and has had only 1 leak, an no other major complications. But what also came up is that he got a DUII in April. My question is do I have the right to ask him about this and if so how on earth do I bring it up? On a side note his DUII was received at 152 am on a Friday, and he is off that day. It is less concerning than had it been mid week, though I am so against drunk driving that it still irritates me.

[Rainae 22]

So I read a post about googling your doc and reading reviews. All the reviews on my surgeon going back to 2003 are great and fit in with everything I have heard about him. According to his office, he has done over 5000 procedures and has had only 1 leak, an no other major complications. But what also came up is that he got a DUII in April. My question is do I have the right to ask him about this and if so how on earth do I bring it up? On a side note his DUII was received at 152 am on a Friday, and he is off that day. It is less concerning than had it been mid week, though I am so against drunk driving that it still irritates me.

[Justinh125 472]

I think it's up to you. My guess is he won't be thrilled with you bringing it up. But if it's a genuine concern of yours, you could try something like "I know you weren't on the job, but I was a little nervous when I read about your DUI."

My surgeon also had a great record, but was sued a couple years ago for refusing to operate on an HIV-positive patient. I was deeply troubled by that, as the risk would be nearly nothing as long as they are using proper surgical technique. A good friend of mine is HIV positive and he once accidentally cut himself cooking, and in helping him tend to his wound, I forgot about everything and ended up getting HIV-infected blood all over my skin. That was years ago, and I didn't get infected. Point being I saw it as a knock on my surgeon's ethics.

I weighed it, but ultimately decided that nobody's perfect, and went ahead with it. There's stuff in my past I'm not thrilled about...we all make poor choices sometimes.

But only you can decide if that's a deal-breaker. I imagine that if a good friend was killed by a drunk driver, I'd chose a different surgeon....I would feel too strongly.

[Justinh125 472]

I think it's up to you. My guess is he won't be thrilled with you bringing it up. But if it's a genuine concern of yours, you could try something like "I know you weren't on the job, but I was a little nervous when I read about your DUI."

My surgeon also had a great record, but was sued a couple years ago for refusing to operate on an HIV-positive patient. I was deeply troubled by that, as the risk would be nearly nothing as long as they are using proper surgical technique. A good friend of mine is HIV positive and he once accidentally cut himself cooking, and in helping him tend to his wound, I forgot about everything and ended up getting HIV-infected blood all over my skin. That was years ago, and I didn't get infected. Point being I saw it as a knock on my surgeon's ethics.

I weighed it, but ultimately decided that nobody's perfect, and went ahead with it. There's stuff in my past I'm not thrilled about...we all make poor choices sometimes.

But only you can decide if that's a deal-breaker. I imagine that if a good friend was killed by a drunk driver, I'd chose a different surgeon....I would feel too strongly.

[Ms.Yvette 96]

This is tough. Only you can truly decide how you would like to proceed with this. It definitely would concern me, but he is human. He's not void of faults just because he's a Doctor. If he's getting great reviews by his patients then that should speak for itself. I mean if he cheats on his wife, is that any of your business? We all have personal lives outside of our professions and it seems his patients are happy with the end result. How many pilots have a few drinks before take off and we still get in that plane? Just my opinion. Good luck.

[Ms.Yvette 96]

This is tough. Only you can truly decide how you would like to proceed with this. It definitely would concern me, but he is human. He's not void of faults just because he's a Doctor. If he's getting great reviews by his patients then that should speak for itself. I mean if he cheats on his wife, is that any of your business? We all have personal lives outside of our professions and it seems his patients are happy with the end result. How many pilots have a few drinks before take off and we still get in that plane? Just my opinion. Good luck.

[ItsMe2033 143]

I would only ask him about it if you think his answer will have an impact on your decision to use him as your surgeon. In order to do that, you should visualize asking him the question, and imagine different answers that he might give. Personally I can only imagine his saying something along the lines of "Yes it was a terrible mistake. We had gone to a party and I usually don't drink, but I had a couple of drinks and ...."

I can't visualize a situation where he says "Well I usually get drunk every Friday night, and that night I got unlucky and got stopped. And I usually have a drink or two before the surgery just to steady my hands."

Since I can't imagine an answer other than the first one, I personally wouldn't ask him about it, but you should certainly ask if you want to.

[ItsMe2033 143]

I would only ask him about it if you think his answer will have an impact on your decision to use him as your surgeon. In order to do that, you should visualize asking him the question, and imagine different answers that he might give. Personally I can only imagine his saying something along the lines of "Yes it was a terrible mistake. We had gone to a party and I usually don't drink, but I had a couple of drinks and ...."

I can't visualize a situation where he says "Well I usually get drunk every Friday night, and that night I got unlucky and got stopped. And I usually have a drink or two before the surgery just to steady my hands."

Since I can't imagine an answer other than the first one, I personally wouldn't ask him about it, but you should certainly ask if you want to.

[Justinh125 472]

I would only ask him about it if you think his answer will have an impact on your decision to use him as your surgeon. In order to do that, you should visualize asking him the question, and imagine different answers that he might give. Personally I can only imagine his saying something along the lines of "Yes it was a terrible mistake. We had gone to a party and I usually don't drink, but I had a couple of drinks and ...."

I can't visualize a situation where he says "Well I usually get drunk every Friday night, and that night I got unlucky and got stopped. And I usually have a drink or two before the surgery just to steady my hands."

Since I can't imagine an answer other than the first one, I personally wouldn't ask him about it, but you should certainly ask if you want to.

Yep. It's gotta be your call...only you can decide how important the issue is.

[Justinh125 472]

I would only ask him about it if you think his answer will have an impact on your decision to use him as your surgeon. In order to do that, you should visualize asking him the question, and imagine different answers that he might give. Personally I can only imagine his saying something along the lines of "Yes it was a terrible mistake. We had gone to a party and I usually don't drink, but I had a couple of drinks and ...."

I can't visualize a situation where he says "Well I usually get drunk every Friday night, and that night I got unlucky and got stopped. And I usually have a drink or two before the surgery just to steady my hands."

Since I can't imagine an answer other than the first one, I personally wouldn't ask him about it, but you should certainly ask if you want to.

Yep. It's gotta be your call...only you can decide how important the issue is.

[Peggy 53 69]

Either you trust your surgeon or you don't . If you don't then I'd suggest you start looking for a new doctor.

[Peggy 53 69]

Either you trust your surgeon or you don't . If you don't then I'd suggest you start looking for a new doctor.

[NMJG 1,266]

What answer are you expecting to get from him that would make it OK for you to proceed? I suspect that nothing he would say would make you comfortable. If that is so, switch doctors now, unless you just want to punish him by putting him on the spot. I don't approve of drunk driving either, but personally I would never confront my doctor about it. That's just me, though.

[NMJG 1,266]

What answer are you expecting to get from him that would make it OK for you to proceed? I suspect that nothing he would say would make you comfortable. If that is so, switch doctors now, unless you just want to punish him by putting him on the spot. I don't approve of drunk driving either, but personally I would never confront my doctor about it. That's just me, though.