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Training in Radiology
Great Question !
Many moons ago I went to a PCP with pains in stomach. He asked me to go for all tests and blood tests showed high Bilurubin (sp?) of 8.0. He suspected I had either gallstones or Hepatitis B. He even asked me if I had sex with some lady who might have transmitted Hep B to me. LOL. Further ultrasound told that the gallsstones were the cause, but no blockage. Small stones being formed and getting out. His advice was to stop eating fat foods (pizza like) and such. Within one year of stopping those foods the blood levels came back normal and I was doing great. Even now I remove the cheesy layer when eating Pizza.
Question I asked him here was – did he read the radiologist report or saw the films from Ultrasound? I asked him straight on his face. He was a great guy and told me he did see the films and everything looked good. So yeah, I would ask the surgeon if he knew how to read the film and gather info from it. No offense in asking. An experienced neurologist once told my wife (seeing a plain x-ray) that she had a slipped disk in neck and needed physical therapy. Much later another neurologist wanted her to have MRI and decide what was wrong with neck. He later said he saw the films of MRI and told us “it is not bad at all.” So any case, the question must be asked. It is our responsibility ask.
But like others said not everybody knows how to read the films.