Less Is More: A Narrative Review of Deciding When Surgical Intervention Should Be Withheld

Decision-making in surgery is one of the great unspoken challenges, an important but markedly challenging skill that takes a lifetime to master. The choice not to operate generally proves a significantly harder conclusion than opting for intervention. Our paper explores the influences which affect a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCurēus (Palo Alto, CA) Vol. 14; no. 3; p. e23285
Main Authors Stout, Annabel, Hamer, Jack, Sharples, Tahlia, Tahmasebi, Farshad
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Cureus Inc 18.03.2022
Cureus
Subjects
Anxiety
Communication
COVID-19
Decision making
General Surgery
Influence
Obstetrics/Gynecology
Pandemics
Patient-centered care
Patients
Preventive Medicine
Skills
Surgeons
Surgery
multidisciplinary decision-making
conservative management
obst gynec
patient-centred care
surgery
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Summary:Decision-making in surgery is one of the great unspoken challenges, an important but markedly challenging skill that takes a lifetime to master. The choice not to operate generally proves a significantly harder conclusion than opting for intervention. Our paper explores the influences which affect a clinician's decision to operate or not. The challenging situation where patient and clinician disagree on proposed management is also explored. Implications on management are discussed, with constructive communication techniques offered, including the recent COVID-19 pandemic.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-3
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ObjectType-Review-1
ISSN:2168-8184
2168-8184
DOI:10.7759/cureus.23285