Document Type
Book Chapter
Abstract
Surgical innovation is something of a gray area in medical research. Relative to other doctors, surgeons exercise a high degree of discretion in the trialing of new techniques with their patients. The first patients to undergo a new procedure are, in a real sense, subjects in an experiment. It is always hoped that a new procedure will deliver a clinical benefit, but as often as not, trial means error. The frontline patients bear a higher burden of risk, with lower expectation of success than subsequent patients, who benefit from the experience gained in the early attempts.
ANZSRC / FoR Code
2203 PHILOSOPHY
COinS
Publication Details
Neil, D. A. (2006). The emperor's new scar: the ethics of placebo surgery. In D. Benatar (Eds.), Cutting to the Core: Exploring the Ethics of Contested Surgeries (pp. 197-210). Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield.