Abstract
The history of surgical progress cannot be told without reference to the creativity of surgeons. In neurosurgery, examples include the development of surgical navigation from stereotactic frames to frameless stereotaxy to intraoperative MRI, the invention of stereotactic radiosurgery and specifically the Gamma Knife, the introduction of the operating microscope and then its application to routine procedures such as lumbar discectomy, and the development of spinal instrumentation. These surgeon-driven innovations revolutionized the specialty, and the practice of modern neurosurgery would be unthinkable without these and many other innovations. However, some innovations fail, despite initial hopes that they might be better, and thus unbridled enthusiasm toward interventions that are new can be harmful.
In this chapter the definition of innovation is presented, along with a discussion of informed consent and legal aspects. Recommendations are suggested for how neurosurgeons can best navigate the challenge of embracing and creating innovation.
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Devon, K.M., Bernstein, M. (2014). Neurosurgical Innovation. In: Ammar, A., Bernstein, M. (eds) Neurosurgical Ethics in Practice: Value-based Medicine. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-54980-9_15
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-54980-9_15
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