How to determine the skill of surgeon? How to find correct best surgeon? What evidence-based medicine tells us about how to find best surgeon? Leading cardiac surgeon shares his experience. How to find the right surgeon? Dr. Anton Titov, MD. Here is advice from eminent cardiac surgeon 1234. He explains how to find the right doctor and how to compare quality of cardiac surgeons. Dr. Lawrence H. Cohn, MD. Important factor is risk-adjusted mortality concept. Dr. Anton Titov, MD. How sick are patients that the surgeon treats? What is their expected rate of death after surgery? how to find the best heart surgeon? This is how to find the right surgeon. How surgeon's actual results compare with expected results? Many US states report risk adjusted mortality data on cardiac surgery. Dr. Lawrence H. Cohn, MD. Video interview with leading expert in cardiac surgery. Second opinion confirms that heart disease diagnosis is correct and complete. Second opinion helps to choose the best surgical treatment for heart disease and coronary artery disease. You have to know How to find the right surgeon Get second opinion on valvular heart disease and coronary artery disease and be confident that your treatment is the best. How to find the right surgeon. How to pick good surgeon. 1234 Objective analysis of data that compares clinical outcomes for different treatments is called the practice of evidence-based medicine. It sometimes brings unexpected results. Some commonly accepted methods of treatment are subjected to rigorous scientific analysis. For example, in cardiology analysis of efficacy of drug-eluting coronary stents versus bare-metal coronary stents has brought some unexpected results. Studies showed that drug-eluting coronary artery stents are not significantly better than bare metal stents. Dr. Anton Titov, MD. What are the areas in cardiac surgery where evidence-based analysis of common practices could be beneficial? Maybe there are examples of evidence-based clinical trials that have already challenged commonly held medical practice methods? 1234 (Cardiac Surgeon, Harvard Medical School). Dr. Lawrence H. Cohn, MD. Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery is clearly very data-driven. In many states of this country you have to report all your patients' clinical outcomes data to a government agency. Patient outcome data is risk-adjusted, of course. Because sometimes a patient comes in shock or has a big heart attack. Then patient has an emergency coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) operation. This patient's risk profile is higher than when somebody comes on an elective basis for planned CABG operation. That patient could be doing well recovering at home. Many states record clinical outcomes data of coronary artery bypass graft operations. As you pointed out, it is true. The cardiac catheterization and cardiac coronary intervention procedures have clinical outcomes recorded in many states in the US. The Society of Thoracic Surgeons surgeons has a big database on all kinds of heart surgery. Dr. Lawrence H. Cohn, MD. Many states require a doctor to submit data on clinical outcomes for his or her patients and report this data to the public. But there are these repositories of clinical outcomes data for individual surgeons and hospitals. Dr. Anton Titov, MD. This information is very helpful to assess quality of surgeons and hospitals. How to find the right surgeon? How to compare results of surgical treatment? How to choose the best surgeon? What is Risk adjusted mortality? Cardiac surgery