Surgeon’s dilemma: should I save patient’s life at any cost?

Kamila Kocańda; Stanisław Głuszek

doi:10.5114/ms.2017.72487

eISSN: 2300-6722
ISSN: 1899-1874

Medical Studies/Studia Medyczne

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4/2017
vol. 33

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abstract:

Review paper

Surgeon’s dilemma: should I save patient’s life at any cost?

Kamila Kocańda

¹

,

Stanisław Głuszek

^{2, 3}

Regional Hospital, Kielce, Poland
Clinical Department of General Oncology and Endocrinology Surgery, Provincial Polyclinic Hospital, Kielce, Poland
Department of Surgery and Surgical Nursing with the Scientific Research Laboratory, Institute of Medical Sciences, Jan Kochanowski University, Kielce, Poland

Medical Studies/Studia Medyczne 2017; 33 (4): 321–324

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5114/ms.2017.72487

Online publish date: 2017/12/31

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Every doctor practicing treatment in the field of medicine may be confronted with a serious question: should I save my patient’s life at any cost? If a doctor resigns from emergency procedures, he/she will risk the patient’s death. However, if he/she decides to proceed regardless of a Jehovah’s Witness patient’s statement of will, in which he or she refuses transfusion, he/she takes a risk of illegal medical intervention. There is neither an easy answer, nor a serious solution, thus the only way is to choose the lesser of two evils. Notwithstanding legal issues, there are still ethical problems, which result in an internal dilemma for a doctor.

keywords:

Surgeon’s dilemma: should I save patient’s life at any cost?

Kamila Kocańda 1 , Stanisław Głuszek 2, 3

transfusion, Jehovah’s Witnesses, patient’s consent

Kamila Kocańda

¹

,

Stanisław Głuszek

^{2, 3}