Best-kept secrets of surgeons around the world

“Start applying daily as soon as your wound has healed, and avoid sunlight or use a sunscreen with zinc oxide for at least six months after surgery.” —Andrew Ordon, MD

“That’s just as, if not more, important.” —Andrew Ordon, MD

“Give yourself time to heal. If you don’t, you can cause complications and prolong your recovery.”—Andrew Ordon, MD

“If you’re not having a heart attack or an unstable angina, you will do equally well with a stent or medicine, studies show. Having something permanently implanted in your body is not a risk-free proposition. There is evidence that thousands of people have had stents they likely did not need.” —Marc Gillinov, MD

“You’ll get doctors involved with the latest in medicine. Even for simple cases, if there’s a complication that requires an assist device or a heart transplant, some hospitals may not be able to do it. At a university hospital, you also have the advantage of having a resident or physician bedside 24-7, with a surgeon on call always available.” —Tomas A. Salerno, MD

“Just because you have a blockage in an artery doesn’t mean you need it fixed, especially if you don’t have symptoms.” —Marc Gillinov, MD

“It’s the big black cloud hanging over us, and it permeates a lot of the things we do: the tests we run, the labs we order to make sure we’re not missing something. I’m guilty of that.” —Paul Ruggieri, MD

“Why? If you let the patient leave the hospital and something adverse occurs, someone may raise the question ‘Why wasn’t the operation performed right away?’” —Tomas A. Salerno, MD.

This article first appeared on RD.com.