In front of the TV, we're all experts in tennis or soccer, but on the pitch, opinions differ. Amateur soccer players have about as much in common with a Bundesliga soccer player as a VW Polo has with a Formula 1 racing car.
This means that many doctors are very well versed in the theory of their field. They treat their patients correctly and give the right advice. However, when it comes to surgery, theory is no longer enough.
Not all surgery is the same!
What does a heart transplant have in common with intestinal surgery?
About as much as soccer has with golf. Both are played on grass, and you have a ball. But that's where the similarities end.
Surgery is very similar. Certain basic skills are always the same, such as closing the wound with sutures. The rest of the procedure, however, is usually highly specialized and not comparable.
Of course, an orthopedist or surgeon has performed a variety of different operations during their training. Recreational sports can be seen as a similar phenomenon. Many people practice a variety of different sports in their free time. With a lot of talent, they can achieve respectable results in one or another. However, they are miles away from the Bundesliga or world elite. To reach this level, a tremendous focus on a single sport is required. In addition to talent, years of intensive training are essential to be at the top.
Surgery has become so specialized today that even disciplines like orthopedics are highly specialized. To continue the comparison with sports, ball sports can be considered here. Hockey, handball, and soccer are all sports in which a ball must be put into a goal. Nevertheless, the techniques are so fundamentally different that no one would expect a world-class hockey player to also be a world-class soccer player.
For orthopedics, this means that it is not to be expected that a top foot surgeon is also a top hip or shoulder surgeon. Here, too, a high degree of specialization and, above all, a great deal of practice are required to become truly excellent in this one small area.
Even in arthroscopies, where the basic skills are very similar, the procedures are now further subdivided due to the increasing complexity of the procedures. For example, you can now find specialists for knee, shoulder, or hip arthroscopy who specialize in these joints.
You can also find these specialists in soccer. On the soccer field, there are strikers, midfielders, and defense specialists. Each one is an absolute expert in their field. If a coach wants the best result—in other words, victory—they will seek out such specialists, train with them, and then deploy them precisely in their area of expertise. This way, they can be sure of achieving the best results.
For patients, this means they should seek out such a specialist if they require surgery. It's not the "recreational athlete" who promises the best results, but rather the focused, highly specialized doctor with extensive training and experience in their field.
How do I find my specialist?
Specialists aren't always easy to identify at first glance. They differ from their less specialized colleagues in the fact that they don't perform all types of operations. This means they don't operate on hands, feet, elbows, knees, shoulders, etc. They limit themselves to a maximum of one or two joints and perform a larger number of operations on these joints.