Treating disease can be considered a combat between curative therapies and pathological afflictions. As such, the action of achieving a cure can be likened to successfully waging war on sickness and bodily disorders. Surgical Philosophy applies the core principles derived from Sun Tzu's timeless book Art of War to combating disease through surgery.
Treating disease can be considered a combat between curative therapies and pathological afflictions. As such, the action of achieving a cure can be likened to successfully waging war on sickness and bodily disorders. Surgical Philosophy applies the core principles derived from Sun Tzu's timeless book Art of War to combating disease through surgery.
This book encompasses the theoretical and practical aspects of surgical ethics, with a focus on the application of ethical standards to everyday surgical practice and the resolution of ethical conflicts in the surgical arena. It provides surgeons (both prospective and practicing) in the different surgical fields with deep, practical insights into the topic. A 21st century surgeon requires complete competence (superb clinical skills, expert surgical decision-making and outstanding performance and technical skills) as well as solid ethical values. Ethics are placed at the core of surgical professionalism, so surgeons must be not only proficient and expert but also ethically and morally reliable. Surgical decision-making can be considered as a two-step process: the “how to treat” aspect is a matter of surgical science, while “why to treat” issues are a matter of surgical ethics and are based on ethical principles. As such, every surgeon should have a moral compass to guide his or her actions, always placing the welfare and rights of the patients above their own. The book provides invaluable background and insights for solving the ethical conflicts surgeons around the globe encounter in their daily practice. Each chapter will also include features such as key point summaries in the beginning of the chapters, explanatory boxes, a glossary and suggested readings. Surgical Ethics - Principles and Practice is an authoritative work in the field designed for experienced surgeons, surgical residents, and fellows, all of whom are confronted with ethics issues and conflicts in practice.
A definitive, accessible, and reliable resource which provides a solid foundation of the knowledge and basic science needed to hone all of the core surgical skills used in surgical settings. Presented in a clear and accessible way it addresses the cross-specialty aspects of surgery applicable to all trainees.
Contributors. -- Foreword. -- Preface. -- Getting Started. -- Assessing Available Information. -- Organizing and Preliminary Planning for Surgical Research -- Writing a Protocol: Animals, Humans, and Use of Biologic, Chemical, and Radiologic Agents. -- Grantsmanship. -- Informed Consent and the Protection of Human Research Subjects: Historical Perspectives and Guide to Current United States Regulations. -- Animal Care and Maintenance. -- Funding Strategies and Agencies: Academic-Industrial Relationships; Intellectual Property. -- Statistical Considerations. -- Use of Nonexperimental Studies to Evaluate Surgical Procedures and Other Interventions: The Challenge of Risk Adjustment. -- Measuring Surgical Outcomes. -- Design of Clinical Trials. -- Using Administrative Data for Clinical Research. -- Research in the Intensive Care Unit: Ethical and Methodological Issues. -- Research in the Operating Room. -- Effects of Age and Gender. -- Strategies, Principles, and Techniques Using Transgeni ...
This work is aimed at MRCS candidates sitting the viva examination which takes place at the end of their training period. It covers: applied surgical anatomy and operative surgery; applied physiology and critical care; and clinical pathology and principles of surgery.
The first textbook on the subject, this is a practical, clinically comprehensive guide to ethical issues in surgical practice, research, and education written by some of the most prominent figures in the fields of surgery and bioethics. Discussions of informed consent, confidentiality, and advance directives--core concepts integral to every surgeon-patient relationship--open the volume. Seven chapters tackle the ethical issues in surgical practice, covering the full range of surgical patients--from emergency, acute, high-risk, and elective patients, to poor surgical risk and dying patients. The book even considers the special relationship between the surgeon and patients who are family members or friends. Chapters on surgical research and education address innovation, self-regulation in practice and research, and the prevention of unwarranted bias. Two chapters focus on the multidisciplinary nature of surgery, including the relationships between surgery and other medical specialties and the obligations of the surgeon to other members of the surgical team. The economic dimensions of surgery, especially within managed care, are addressed in chapters on the surgeons financial relationships with patients, conflicts of interest, and relationships with payers and institutions. The authors do not engage in abstract discussions of ethical theory; instead, their discussions are always directly relevant to the everyday concerns of practicing surgeons. This well-integrated volume is intended for practicing surgeons, medical educators, surgical residents, bioethicists, and medical students.
Surgery inevitably inflicts some harm on the body. At the very least, it damages the tissue that is cut. These harms often are clearly outweighed by the overall benefits to the patient. However, where the benefits do not outweigh the harms or where they do not clearly do so, surgical interventions become morally contested. Cutting to the Core examines a number of such surgeries, including infant male circumcision and cutting the genitals of female children, the separation of conjoined twins, surgical sex assignment of intersex children and the surgical re-assignment of transsexuals, limb and face transplantation, cosmetic surgery, and placebo surgery. When, if ever, do the benefits of these surgeries outweigh their costs? May a surgeon perform dangerous procedures that are not clearly to the patient's benefit, even if the patient consents to them? May a surgeon perform any surgery on a minor patient if there are no clear benefits to that child? These and other related questions are the core themes of this collection of essays.