How to choose a surgeon in Nigeria: registration, experience, a written quote and who handles complications

Check the registration first

Every doctor who practises in Nigeria must be registered with the MDCN and hold a practising licence that is renewed every year. Ask for the surgeon's full name as registered and their folio number, and check the licence is current. A doctor who is unwilling to tell you is a reason to look elsewhere.

On Mezo, every doctor's folio number, name and licence are checked against the MDCN register before they can take a booking, and checked again when licences fall due. Our page on how Mezo checks doctors explains the steps.

Check they are a specialist in your operation

Registration tells you someone is a doctor. It does not tell you they are trained for your operation. A consultant surgeon has years of training after medical school, in Nigeria usually shown by a fellowship of the West African College of Surgeons or the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria in their specialty.

Match the specialist to the problem: a general surgeon for a hernia, gallbladder or lump; a gynaecologist for fibroids or a hysterectomy; a urologist for the prostate or kidney stones; an orthopaedic surgeon for joints and fractures; an ophthalmologist for cataract; an ENT surgeon for tonsils and sinuses. Ask whether the person who sees you is the person who will operate.

Ask how often they do your operation

Experience with your exact operation matters more than a famous name. Ask how many of these operations they have done in the past year, whether they do the keyhole or the open version, and how often a keyhole operation has to be changed to open during surgery. A surgeon who does your operation every week will answer these easily. In Nigeria you usually cannot look up a surgeon's results online, so their honest answers are some of the best evidence you have.

Ask where, and who else is in the room

• Which hospital will the operation be in, and does it have a proper theatre and a ward?
• Who gives the anaesthetic? Ask for a doctor anaesthetist for anything beyond a small local procedure
• Is blood available on site, or arranged before the day, if the operation can need it?
• If I become very unwell after surgery, where would I be looked after, and how would I get there?
• Does the theatre team use a surgical safety checklist before every operation?

Get the plan and the price in writing

Before you agree, you should have in writing: what is wrong, the operation proposed, the other options including not operating yet, the main risks, and an all-in price with what it includes. A good surgeon gives you time to think and is happy for you to get a second opinion. Our guide on what an all-in surgery price should include lists what the quote should cover.

Ask who handles complications

Most operations go well, but you need to know the plan if one does not. Ask who you call at night after you go home, who sees you if the wound becomes infected, and what happens, and who pays, if you need to come back into hospital or return to theatre. A surgeon who flies in for the day and leaves no one for you to call is a risk, however good their hands.

Warning signs

• You never meet the surgeon before the day, only an agent or a social media account
• A deposit is demanded before any doctor has examined you
• No talk of risks, or promises that nothing can go wrong
• Pressure to decide today, or a discount for paying now
• The operation is to happen somewhere without a theatre, an anaesthetist or a ward
• No written plan or price

About "best surgeon" lists and reviews

Online lists of the "best surgeon in Lagos" and social media followers tell you about marketing, not about results. Reviews can tell you how a team treated people, which matters, but not how safe the operation was. The checks above tell you far more. If you are choosing a plastic surgeon, our separate guide covers the extra checks for cosmetic surgery.

Common questions