@hopeful23 I completely agree with your "surgical assembly line" metaphor and with @lise01's experience of things going awry even when you have been very diligent with your research.

I have met 2 surgeons so far. The first one had not even looked at my ultrasound images carefully and did not conduct an ultrasound himself either, yet was very upbeat about my outcome. He seemed more like a salesman to me who was more interested in me doing the surgery with him.
The second surgeon, a very highly regarded specialist with stellar credentials, came with a retinue of 4 to the consultation. But he does seem maxed out and I'm afraid he and his team could miss out on some glaring issues which have already shown up in earlier scans/reports. They don't seem to be reading existing reports very carefully. Neither of them checked my prior medical history records or asked for them. It was just what I could tell them in 5-10 minutes of the 40 minute visit.
One surgeon recommended a laryngoscopy pre-op procedure and the other did not.

Well, I guess this is how the medical system is now. Everyone is maxed out. One has to rely on some amount of luck as well for a successful outcome.