27 ms·

More radical still, the experimental surgery he performed on his wife offers hope that MS, which afflicts 2.5 million people worldwide, can be cured and even la

More radical still, the experimental surgery he performed on his wife offers hope that MS, which afflicts 2.5 million people worldwide, can be cured and even largely prevented. Isn't that considered a breach of medical ethics, and generally just a bad idea?

chaosmachine 17y ago
Maybe, but consider it from his perspective.
tomjen2 17y ago
I don't think it is a bad idea if he has her informed consent. As for it being a bad idea, who would you rather have to do surgery on you, a surgeon who cares enough about you to want to spend the rest of his life with you or some random dude who didn't fail med school?
streety 17y ago
It seems a stretch that he would refuse the treatment from his wife whilst treating 64 other sufferers. The study would have gone through the local ethics committees, probably with second opinions etc. I would be curious as to whether the ethics committee knew his wife would be amongst the trial group but I would find it difficult to condemn him if they didn't.
hallmark 17y ago
The surgery may be experimental as a treatment for MS. But the procedure itself for unclogging the veins sounds fairly straightforward for vascular surgeons, Zamboni included.
- andrewvc 17y ago
  I was thinking that operating on family / friends was considered a bad thing. As an example "physicians generally should not treat themselves or members of their immediate families" because their professional objectivity may be compromised in those situations. Exceptions are allowed for "short-term, minor problems" or "in emergency or isolated settings." http://www.aafp.org/fpm/20050300/41shou.html http://www.aafp.org/fpm/20050300/41shou.html
GiraffeNecktie 17y ago
Experimental surgery is performed all the time, perhaps every day. Sometimes surgeons just do new shit because they find themselves in a novel situation and they have to improvise but more often it's a more calculated decision: weighing the risks and urgency, informing the patient, consulting with other surgeons.

chaosmachine 17y ago

Maybe, but consider it from his perspective.

tomjen2 17y ago

I don't think it is a bad idea if he has her informed consent. As for it being a bad idea, who would you rather have to do surgery on you, a surgeon who cares enough about you to want to spend the rest of his life with you or some random dude who didn't fail med school?

streety 17y ago

It seems a stretch that he would refuse the treatment from his wife whilst treating 64 other sufferers. The study would have gone through the local ethics committees, probably with second opinions etc. I would be curious as to whether the ethics committee knew his wife would be amongst the trial group but I would find it difficult to condemn him if they didn't.

hallmark 17y ago

The surgery may be experimental as a treatment for MS. But the procedure itself for unclogging the veins sounds fairly straightforward for vascular surgeons, Zamboni included.

andrewvc 17y ago
I was thinking that operating on family / friends was considered a bad thing. As an example "physicians generally should not treat themselves or members of their immediate families" because their professional objectivity may be compromised in those situations. Exceptions are allowed for "short-term, minor problems" or "in emergency or isolated settings." http://www.aafp.org/fpm/20050300/41shou.html http://www.aafp.org/fpm/20050300/41shou.html

GiraffeNecktie 17y ago

Experimental surgery is performed all the time, perhaps every day. Sometimes surgeons just do new shit because they find themselves in a novel situation and they have to improvise but more often it's a more calculated decision: weighing the risks and urgency, informing the patient, consulting with other surgeons.