The Ethics of Surgical Practice

Surgical ethics is the application of ethics to issues specific to surgery. This volume provides a collection of clinical case studies representing a wide range of the ethical issues surgeons confront today. It is an excellent text for teaching surgical ethics to surgical residents and medical students and a fascinating read for practicing surgeons. It is intended to engage the reader into participating in evidence-based ethical conflicts. The authors escort us through 71 brief, realistic, and ethically complex problems, offering a series of five possible resolutions to each and guiding us through the relative benefits and weaknesses of the options until a best ethical choice is defended. The volume includes sections on Consent and Disclosure, Self-Regulation, Research and Innovation, Conflicts of Interest, Business Dealings, and End of Life Issues, each with a brief introduction by the authors.

1. Introduction: A Primer on Surgical Ethics; 2. Informed Consent and Disclosure; A. PAINTED INTO A CORNER: UNEXPECTED COMPLICATIONS IN TREATING A JEHOVAH'S WITNESS; B. A PATIENT REFUSES CONSENT FOR LIFE-SAVING SURGERY; C. CONSENT FOR AN INTRAOPERATIVE VIDEO RECORDING; 3. Professional Self-Regulation; A. WHAT TO TELL PATIENTS HARMED BY OTHER PHYSICIANS; B. EYE-WITNESS TO INCOMPETENT SURGERY;; C. MILITARY PHYSICIAN'S ETHICAL RESPONSE TO EVIDENCE OF TORTURE; 4. Innovation and Research; A. WHEN DOES CONVENTIONAL SURGERY BECOME RESEARCH?;; B. A SURGEON'S OBLIGATION WHEN PERFORMING NEW PROCEDURES;; C. THE ETHICS OF INNOVATIVE APPROACHES FOR WELL-ESTABLISHED PROCEDURES; 5. Conflicts of Interest and Conflicts of Commitment; A. INTENTIONAL OVER-TREATMENT: THE UNMENTIONABLE CONFLICT OF INTEREST; B. PATIENT RESPONSIBILITIES, FAMILY RESPONSIBILITIES; C. NON-FINANCIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST; 6. The Ethics of Surgery as a Surgery; A. ETHICS OF PHYSICIANS' INCOME; B. ETHICS OF PERSONAL ADVERTISING IN SURGERY; C. ETHICS OF INSTITUTIONAL MARKETING: THE ROLE OF PHYSICIANS; 7. Medical Professionalism Challenges: Assaults from Within and Without; A. GOING PUBLIC WITH AMAZING CASES: FIAT OR FIASCO?; B. UNPROFESSIONAL BEHAVIOR THAT DISRUPTS: CROSSING THE LINE; C. MY BROTHER'S KEEPER: ETHICS OF UNCOMPENSATED CARE FOR UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS; 8. End-of-Life Issues; A. FUTILITY AND SURGICAL INTERVENTION; B. ADVANCED AGE, DEMENTIA, AND AN ABDOMINAL ANEURYSM - INTERVENE?; C. COMPLYING WITH ADVANCE DIRECTIVES IN THE OR; D. ABDOMINAL AORTIC ANEURYSM IN A DEATH ROW INMATE; E. TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT TERMINAL DISEASES; F. ARSENIC AND OLD LACE: END OF LIFE CARE IN THE POST-OPERATIVE; G. TRAINING ON NEWLY DECEASED PATIENTS; H. WITHDRAWAL OF LIFE-SUSTAINING LOW-BURDEN CARE; I. PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED SUICIDE: HAS IT COME OF AGE?