No urological surgeon of genuine expertise will be unsettled by a patient who asks good questions. In fact, the opposite is true: the best surgeons welcome informed patients, because shared decision-making leads to better outcomes. Here are the seven questions that matter most.

Being told you need urological surgery — whether for prostate cancer, a kidney tumour, bladder cancer, kidney stones, or another condition — can be overwhelming. The temptation is to defer entirely to your surgeon’s recommendation, particularly when you are anxious and the diagnosis is serious.

But understanding your options, the risks, and the alternatives is not just your right — it is clinically important. Patients who understand their treatment make better decisions, recover more confidently, and are more adherent to follow-up. Here are the seven questions every patient should ask before proceeding.

1. Is surgery definitely the right treatment for me?

Surgery is not always the only option, and it is not always the right first step. For prostate cancer, active surveillance is appropriate for many low-risk patients. For small kidney tumours, surveillance or ablative techniques may be alternatives. For kidney stones, medical management or less invasive procedures may be preferable to surgery.

Ask your surgeon to walk you through the full range of options for your specific situation, including non-surgical alternatives and their respective outcomes. A confident surgeon will do this without defensiveness.

2. How many times have you performed this specific procedure?

Surgical outcomes in urology correlate strongly with volume. Ask specifically: not ‘are you experienced?’ but ‘how many of these operations do you perform each year, and how many have you performed in total?’

For robotic prostatectomy, partial nephrectomy, and radical cystectomy, look for surgeons performing these procedures regularly at significant volume. For stone procedures such as ureteroscopy or PCNL, high annual case numbers similarly reflect maintained skill and familiarity with variation.

3. What are your personal complication rates for this procedure?

Published national complication rates are useful context, but they tell you nothing about the surgeon sitting in front of you. Ask for their personal outcomes data: complication rates, readmission rates, and — for cancer surgery — margin positivity rates and recurrence data.

A surgeon who cannot or will not answer this question with specific data should prompt careful reflection. A surgeon of genuine excellence will have this information to hand.

4. What happens if we don’t operate?

Understanding the natural history of your condition without surgery is essential context for any treatment decision. What are the risks of watchful waiting? How quickly is this likely to progress? What symptoms or signs would trigger intervention if we choose not to operate now?

This question also reveals how your surgeon thinks — whether they default to surgical intervention or whether they genuinely weigh each option against the individual patient’s circumstances and values.

5. Is there a minimally invasive option?

Robotic and laparoscopic approaches to urological surgery have transformed recovery times, complication profiles, and functional outcomes for many procedures. However, not all surgeons are trained in minimally invasive techniques, and not all hospitals have the necessary equipment.

If your surgeon recommends open surgery, ask specifically whether a robotic or laparoscopic approach is feasible for your case — and if not, why not. If you are unsure, a second opinion from a surgeon with robotic training may be valuable.

6. What does recovery actually look like?

Ask for realistic, specific information: how long will you be in hospital? When can you drive, return to work, resume exercise, and resume sexual activity? What symptoms are normal in the recovery period, and what should prompt you to seek urgent attention?

Vague reassurances (‘you’ll be up and about in no time’) are not sufficient. You need specific, honest information to plan your recovery and set appropriate expectations.

7. Who will actually perform the surgery?

In some private hospital settings, a consultant surgeon may be present but not the primary operating surgeon — trainees or registrars may perform parts of the procedure under supervision. Ask directly: will you be performing the entire operation? If trainees will be involved, to what extent, and how will this be supervised?

At Urology Clinics Manchester, our consultant surgeons perform their own operations. You are not consenting to a named surgeon and receiving a trainee.

A surgeon of genuine confidence and expertise will welcome every one of these questions. If asking them makes you feel unwelcome or unreasonable, that tells you something important about whether this is the right surgeon for you.

At Urology Clinics Manchester, our consultants expect and encourage informed patients. Visit urologyclinics.co.uk to book a consultation — and bring your questions.