Unexpected intraoperative patient death: the imperatives of family- and surgeon-centered care.
Conveying to family members that their loved one has unexpectedly died during an operation is perhaps the most stressful task a surgeon must perform. The loss of a patient's life precipitates enormous personal and professional anxiety and stress on a surgeon: profound grief, damage to self-esteem, loss of self-confidence and reputation, and the specter of litigation. Most surgeons feel unskilled in such a setting, yet how they communicate-what they say and how they say it-is extremely important for everyone involved. Two distinct, but interactive, phases of response are relevant when communicating with a family before and after an unexpected death of their loved one: a proactive phase ("CARE") intended to establish a positive therapeutic relationship, and a reactive phase ("SHARE") intended to respond to the crisis in a compassionate and respectful manner and to ensure self-care for the physician.
Taylor
Dan
D
Department of Surgery, College of Medicine and Medical Center, University of South Alabama, 2451 Fillingim St, Mobile, AL 36617, USA.
Hassan
Moustafa A
MA
Luterman
Arnold
A
Rodning
Charles B
CB
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001293:Attitude to Death; D003142:Communication; D003645:Death, Sudden; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006117:Grief; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D007431:Intraoperative Complications / Q000401:mortality*; D008297:Male; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative / Q000401:mortality