Ann Thorac Surg 1999;68:843
© 1999 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Review of Recent Books
Surgical ethics
Edited by Lawrence B. McCullough, James W. Jones, and Baruck A. Brody, Cary, NC, USA, Oxford University Press, 1999, 396 pp, $49.50, ISBN: 0-19-510347-5
Peter Angelos, MD, PhD
This text provides the first comprehensive textbook on ethical issues in surgical practice. The editors, two ethicists and a surgeon, have sought to explore the most important ethical issues in contemporary surgical practice, research, and education.
The book is designed to be useful for practicing surgeons. In addition, it will prove to be of great benefit to medical educators, surgical residents, bioethicists, and medical students. Chapters address such central issues in surgical ethics as informed consent and confidentiality, as well as less commonly treated topics such as "Financial Relationships With Patients" and "Preventing and Managing Unwarranted Biases Against Their Patients." Each chapter is written by at least one surgeon and one ethicist. At the end of each chapter are many up-to-date references. In addition, a complete index is included.
This book fulfills the need for a current and comprehensive examination of the ethical issues central to surgery. Although numerous books on medical ethics have been published over the last 20 years, this book focuses specifically on ethical issues in surgery and includes a large number of surgeons as contributors. The issues addressed are important. The chapters include an appropriate amount of theoretical background but are nevertheless helpful to the practicing surgeon. This book deserves a place on the bookshelf of any surgical educator who has an interest in the difficult ethical questions central to surgery. It sets a high standard for future competing volumes in ethical issues in surgery and it will become a welcome and frequently used addition to any surgical library.
