Personal Narrative
May 2001

Moral Wounds: Complicated Complications

Faith Lagay, PhD
Virtual Mentor. 2001;3(5):160. doi: 10.1001/virtualmentor.2001.3.5.prsp1-0105.

 

As a complication of her partial thyroidectomy, Shari Munch, PhD, has permanent paralysis of one vocal cord, a possible outcome about which her surgeon did not inform her. In this JAMA article, Dr. Munch discusses the psychological harm and damage to trust caused by the surgeon's failure to tell her about the risk of vocal cord paralysis before the operation. She invited her surgeon, Dr. Lewis deKryger, to respond to her essay, and he did so. In his portion of the dialogue, Dr. deKryger explains that he decides what to tell patients preoperatively based on his assumptions about what they already know, e.g., the risk entailed in any surgery, and on his previous experience in performing the particular surgery they will undergo. He admits to not reflecting at length on the possible "moral wounds" of incomplete disclosure.

References

  1. Munch S, deKryger L. Moral Wounds: Complicated Complications. [A Piece of My Mind]. JAMA. 2001;285(9):1131-1132.

Citation

Virtual Mentor. 2001;3(5):160.

DOI

10.1001/virtualmentor.2001.3.5.prsp1-0105.

The viewpoints expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the AMA.