@cocha I specifically asked my surgeon that question and said I only wanted him to do the surgery. He said he would, but that others in the room would be assisting.

Hey @cocha and @hopeful23 and @koh -- just catching up on your posts. Trying to play catch up after two weeks off has me scrambling!

Re: cancer spread from FNA -- it's called needle track dissemination, I believe, and it is quite rare. The first endo I saw, who did mine, did something not quite right -- it was extremely painful compared to one I had before and my neck started swelling up . He was actually surprised /alarmed and I dont think took as many samples as he had intended. So, I worried about consequences of improperly executed FNA and brought it up with my doctor -- he assured me that it is extremely uncommon.

@cocha I would be very surprised if they let a student or resident actually perform the surgery. We go through this process of vetting surgeons, so they should absolutely be the ones actually doing it. I would ask them if you want to grant yourself some peace of mind about that -- I don't think there are any wrong questions to ask when it comes to your well-being. I had my surgery done at UCSD Moores Cancer Center, and while I suspect they might have UCSD medical students training there and potentially present/assisting, I know my surgeon was the only one who actually operated on me.

Hope you are all doing well!