Ethical problems in surgery: innovation leading to unforeseen complications.
A hypothetical case that involves a surgical innovation is used to illustrate three ethical issues in surgery: the profound trust that vulnerable patients feel toward their surgeons, even when they innovate; the disequilibrating effect of new procedures on traditional safeguards of surgical competence; and the need for a systematic approach to the evaluation of new surgical procedures.
Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, The Toronto Hospital, Joint Centre for Bioethics, 77 Forest Grove Drive, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M2K 1Z4.
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McKneally
D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D004724:Endoscopy; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D006801:Humans; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010348:Patient Care Team; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology*; D018570:Risk Assessment