Live Surgery: to Ban or to Regulate?
Seance of wednesday 13 february 2019 (Communications libres)
DOI number : 10.26299/ka35-rx97/emem.2018.1.012
Abstract
"Live surgeries" correspond to a very old practice of teaching surgery. Even today, thousands of live surgeries are performed every year around the world at national and international conferences and workshops.
With the emergence of modern techniques of teaching diffusion on the one hand and the evolution of patients' rights on the other hand, many recent articles in the medical literature have questioned the educational value of "live" surgeries". In addition, most authors recognize that the rate of surgical complications is higher than in conventional surgery because of multiple factors: jet lag, deconcentration of the operator in the face of audience questions, unusual working conditions, etc. Other authors mention ethical problems: violation of the medical secret, non-respect of the dignity of the people, lack of information of the patient, absence of clinical examination by the operator, etc.
Faced with this topical issue, the attitude of scientific societies is mixed. Some have banned the "live surgeries" of their congress while others have regulated by proposing recommendations. None can enforce their decisions.
It should be noted that, to our knowledge, no French scientific society has ever officially undertaken any reflection on this subject. It seems important that the Académie Nationale de Chirurgie, whose legitimacy is indisputable, seize this topic to organize a debate between surgical specialties to make a consensus decision on this taboo subject: to ban or to regulate?
With the emergence of modern techniques of teaching diffusion on the one hand and the evolution of patients' rights on the other hand, many recent articles in the medical literature have questioned the educational value of "live" surgeries". In addition, most authors recognize that the rate of surgical complications is higher than in conventional surgery because of multiple factors: jet lag, deconcentration of the operator in the face of audience questions, unusual working conditions, etc. Other authors mention ethical problems: violation of the medical secret, non-respect of the dignity of the people, lack of information of the patient, absence of clinical examination by the operator, etc.
Faced with this topical issue, the attitude of scientific societies is mixed. Some have banned the "live surgeries" of their congress while others have regulated by proposing recommendations. None can enforce their decisions.
It should be noted that, to our knowledge, no French scientific society has ever officially undertaken any reflection on this subject. It seems important that the Académie Nationale de Chirurgie, whose legitimacy is indisputable, seize this topic to organize a debate between surgical specialties to make a consensus decision on this taboo subject: to ban or to regulate?