To qualify who exactly is a "Best Doctor," the organization asks medical specialists questions like, "If you or a loved one needed a doctor in your specialty, to whom would you refer them?" Doctors have unique, "inside" perspective about who's at the top of their profession, who's up on the latest advances in their field, and therefore, where they personally would turn for state-of-the-art care when faced with a serious medical problem. www.thomasllyons.com

How are 50,000 of the Best Doctors worldwide chosen?
Continuous peer-to-peer surveys help Best Doctors identify specialists who are considered by fellow physicians to be the most skilled in their fields and most qualified for reviewing and treating complex medical conditions. The polling process is anonymous and confidential, qualitative and quantitative. It provides detailed profiles of each physician, including his or her practice, research programs and diagnostic and treatment procedures. They survey doctors in more than 400 subspecialties of medicine. www.thomasllyons.com

How does Best Doctors ensure reliable, impartial results?
The group is totally independent. Doctors do not pay to be included in the database, nor are they paid to participate in the survey. The judgment of peers is the determining factor. And to get opinions with weight and professional credibility, the very best are consulted.

Best Doctors contacts all currently elected physicians, including many department heads at major teaching hospitals, and asks them to rate specialists outside their own facilities. The process of peer review requires that every listed physician be re-evaluated with each new survey. With person-to-person telephone interviews and proprietary polling and balloting software, Best Doctors collects up to 1.5 million evaluations annually. Only 5% of the doctors in any country are actually selected to become Best Doctors. www.thomasllyons.com

Evolution of a World-Class Surgeon
Dr. Lyons began teaching surgeons from around the world in the late 1980s as he trained others on laparoscopic gallbladder removal. From there he began exploration and training on tubal pregnancies, ovarian cysts, fibroids, hysterectomy and endometriosis. At the present time, even certain cancers can be removed laparoscopically.

In the early 1990s, telesurgery revolutionized the field and Dr. Lyons began performing procedures in his customary operating environment while surgeons in Europe or Asia watched, asked questions and learned remotely. Www.thomasllyons.com

What Your Doctor Doesn't Tell You
Dr. Lyons has trained thousands of surgeons on the Laparoscopic Supracervical Hysterectomy (LSH) technique he developed nearly 20 years ago. It leaves the cervix intact as a keystone support to the pelvic area and enables better sexual function post surgery. However, most doctors don't perform it.

Some surgeons refuse to perform laparoscopic procedures on a large uterus, and say it can't be done. Left out in that explanation is, "because I can't do it." The size of the uterus is not an issue or a problem for Dr. Lyons.

"It's especially important that patients choose a surgeon who is experienced in working with lasers and laparoscopy. LSH requires more skill than open abdominal hysterectomy. It's easier on the patient, but more challenging for the surgeon," explained Dr. Lyons.

One of the most important factors in helping people choose appropriate medical care is a comprehensive understanding of the reasons for treatment, the risks, and the potential benefits. This especially applies to hysterectomy. If hysterectomy has been suggested as an option, women should carefully weigh the pros and cons, the alternative treatments, the potential benefits and risks, and the physician's track record.

Many surgeons will attempt a laparoscopic procedure and feel it necessary to convert to an open surgery with a long incision during the procedure. Make sure to ask your surgeon about his or her conversion ratio. Dr. Lyons' conversion ratio is less than one percent. www.thomasllyons.com