Quick answer

What to do first

Before an elective operation, check the surgeon, permitted medicine and patient’s bed/room conditions. The surgeon’s displayed surgery stat is not the operation’s final success chance. Better preparation reduces avoidable risk but never justifies promising a guaranteed operation.

Requires: CoreLast verified:

Match your symptom

SymptomLikely causeCheckNext action
Operation never startsBill, doctor or medicine is unavailableInspect the operation bill, doctor assignment and allowed medicine.Provide the required items and a capable available surgeon.
Good doctor still failsOther factors and residual failure remainInspect bed/room factor, medicine and operation type.Improve preparation; do not read a doctor stat above 100% as certainty.
Patient or doctor is impairedHealth can limit performanceCheck surgeon manipulation, sight and current condition.For elective work, consider delaying until conditions improve.
Urgent operationWaiting also has a costCompare the patient’s condition with preparation time.Choose consciously between urgency and better conditions.

Decide whether to operate now

Distinguish an operation that is blocked from one that is risky. A missing implant, disallowed medicine or unavailable surgeon prevents work from starting. Raising a priority will not supply a missing ingredient or satisfy an operation’s requirement.

Check doctor, medicine and room

Surgery combines factors rather than using the doctor’s number alone. Inspect the doctor, the bed and room conditions, the medicine being used and the operation. Clean, suitable medical space is preparation—not a promise that no failure can occur.

Avoid the 100-percent trap

For elective implants, use the pause to improve conditions before issuing the bill. Avoid relying on a tired or impaired surgeon when a better option can reasonably be arranged. Ideology medical specialists are an optional expansion branch, not a requirement for Core surgery.

If an operation fails

After a failure, inspect the patient before repeating the operation. Treat new injuries and reassess whether another attempt is appropriate now. Infection emergencies can change the decision, which is why their care sequence is handled separately rather than hidden in an implant checklist.

Version & sources

Sources & what may change

Linked references
Applies to
Core · PC 1.6.4850. Optional branches: Ideology.
Last verified
2026-09-04
When to check again
Recheck after a relevant game patch, DLC change or source correction. Mods can change these conditions.

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