Orthopedic surgeons spend months obsessing over valuations, deal terms, and tax strategies—then face a harder question once the wire hits: what now? This article walks through the identity gap no one warns you about, how to design a purposeful “second act,” and the financial guardrails that can protect your practice-sale proceeds from lifestyle creep and impulsive decisions. If you are planning to sell to private equity or another buyer, this is the work to do before the deal closes.

Most surgeons never read their tax return the way they read an MRI. This article shows you four diagnostic markers—effective tax rate, QBI, retirement funding, and state tax—that reveal whether your financial structure is working or leaking.