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Palliative and End-of-Life Care

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Surgery

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Abstract

The World Health Organization defines palliative care as “an approach to care that improves quality of life of patients facing life-threatening illness and their families, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial, and spiritual.”1 In contemporary discussions of healthcare, the topics of “palliative care” and “end-of-life care” are prominent. Although palliative medicine specialists have become more widely available for consultation, the care of seriously ill and dying patients is central to the entire practice of medicine, including surgery. However, fear of treating patients at end of life is experienced by many healthcare providers. Providers are generally not formally prepared to manage dying as a normal process. Caring for this population entails complex decisions that may seem to contradict the intent to cure. However, it is recognized that the essential goal of medicine is to relieve suffering, and that caring well for these patients and their families can be a hopeful and healing process.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology, University of Utah, Huntsman Cancer Institute, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    Sharon M. Weinstein MD (Associate Professor) & Olivia Walton PA-C (Physicians Assistant)

Authors
  1. Sharon M. Weinstein MD
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  2. Olivia Walton PA-C
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA, USA

    Jeffrey A. Norton MD, FACS (Robert L. and Mary Ellenburg Professor, Chief) (Robert L. and Mary Ellenburg Professor, Chief)

  2. Divisions of Surgical Oncology and General Surgery, Department of Surgery, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA, USA

    Jeffrey A. Norton MD, FACS (Robert L. and Mary Ellenburg Professor, Chief) (Robert L. and Mary Ellenburg Professor, Chief)

  3. Departments of Surgery and Public Health, New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA

    Philip S. Barie MD, MBA, FCCM, FACS (Professor, Chief) (Professor, Chief)

  4. Division of Critical Care and Trauma, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA

    Philip S. Barie MD, MBA, FCCM, FACS (Professor, Chief) (Professor, Chief)

  5. Departments of Surgery and Immunology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    R. Randal Bollinger MD, PhD, FACS (Professor) (Professor)

  6. Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, University of Michigan, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Alfred E. Chang MD, FACS (Chief, Hugh Cabot Professor of Surgery) (Chief, Hugh Cabot Professor of Surgery)

  7. Department of Surgery, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA

    Stephen F. Lowry MD, MBA, FACS (Professor and Chairman) (Professor and Chairman)

  8. Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ, USA

    Stephen F. Lowry MD, MBA, FACS (Professor and Chairman) (Professor and Chairman)

  9. Department of Surgery, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    Sean J. Mulvihill MD, FACS (Professor and Chair, Senior Director of Clinical Affairs) (Professor and Chair, Senior Director of Clinical Affairs)

  10. Huntsman Cancer Institute, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    Sean J. Mulvihill MD, FACS (Professor and Chair, Senior Director of Clinical Affairs) (Professor and Chair, Senior Director of Clinical Affairs)

  11. Departments of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Surgery, New York University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

    Harvey I. Pass MD, FACS (Professor) (Professor)

  12. Radiology, and Cell Biology and Physiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Robert W. Thompson MD, FACS (Professor of Surgery (Section of Vascular Surgery), Vice-Chairman for Research) (Professor of Surgery (Section of Vascular Surgery), Vice-Chairman for Research)

  13. Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Robert W. Thompson MD, FACS (Professor of Surgery (Section of Vascular Surgery), Vice-Chairman for Research) (Professor of Surgery (Section of Vascular Surgery), Vice-Chairman for Research)

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© 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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Weinstein, S.M., Walton, O. (2008). Palliative and End-of-Life Care. In: Norton, J.A., et al. Surgery. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-68113-9_40

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-68113-9_40

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-387-30800-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-387-68113-9

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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