Surgical ethics

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511545566.066

56 - Surgical ethics

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 30 October 2009

James Andrews and

Larry Zaroff

Edited by

Peter A. Singer and

A. M. Viens

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James Andrews: Affiliation:
Stanford University, Palo Alto USA
Larry Zaroff: Affiliation:
Senior Research Scholar Stanford University, Palo Alto USA
Peter A. Singer: Affiliation:
University of Toronto
A. M. Viens: Affiliation:
University of Oxford

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Summary

Mrs. A is a 72-year-old woman suffering from coronary artery disease. Upon angiography, the medical team diagnoses triple vessel involvement and determines that Mrs. A requires surgical management. She then meets with her surgeon, Dr. B, to discuss treatment options, and together they decide upon triple bypass surgery. Aware of the associated risks, Mrs. A does not relish the thought of surgery, but she desperately wishes to “put these heart troubles behind her.” In the operating room the following week, when Dr. B exposes the heart he discovers an obvious dissection of the ascending aorta. The lesion must be repaired, but the risks are much greater than those discussed with the patient and family.

What is surgical ethics?

The truly defining institution of surgical medicine is the operation itself. Ultimately, that which distinguishes surgery, in practice and in ethics, from the other medical specialties arises in the operating room. Whether referred to as a simple “room,” or more grandly as a “suite” or “theater,” mystery has always enshrouded this sacred ground where surgeons practice their art. Here, amidst secrecy and sterility, surgeons confront fundamental ethical quandaries unique to their practice. Surgical ethics, thus, captures the unique ethical dilemmas that arise in the operating room.

Why is surgical ethics important?

The surgeon, unlike other clinicians, confronts first and foremost the ethical dilemma that any operation performed harms before healing.

Type: Chapter
Information: The Cambridge Textbook of Bioethics , pp. 447 - 453

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511545566.066 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2008

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56 - Surgical ethics

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