Some medical providers must be better than others at giving out information. I agree there should be some minimum national standards on basic surgical info provided. I consider our local clinic/hospital good. For my first TKR, at the time of scheduling the appointment for surgery (to be 3 months later), I went home with a knee DVD and a half inch thick book with info on joint replacements arranged by chapter, including pre and post surgical exercises I could start doing at home. We also were required to attend a 1-2 hour group session presentation offered at the hospital, in which the speakers were members of the surgical team, anesthetist, physical and occupational rehab nurse etc. We were encouraged to ask questions at any time during the sessions in which both the surgery and recovery/rehab were covered in detail.

But still, people have different tolerances for listening to medical jargon, and some will tune out and just want the whole thing done and over with and not care about the hows and whys. In the end, it's your body at stake, so no one should be shy about asking explanations from your doctor.