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Palliative Care and Decision Making at the End of Life

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Principles and Practice of Geriatric Surgery

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Abstract

Mr. O is an 82-year-old man living independently with his wife of 57 years. He presented to the surgery clinic with 2–3 months of left lower quadrant pain radiating to his groin, a mild increase in abdominal girth, and a small nontender umbilical hernia. Computerized tomography revealed a 24  ×  17  ×  7 cm retroperitoneal mass consistent with a liposarcoma, a moderate left-sided pleural effusion and atelectasis of left lower lobe. He described his bowel movements as normal and his pain was well-controlled with Tylenol. He had some early satiety, mild shortness of breath but was ambulating comfortably for 1–2 blocks with a walker. After a long discussion regarding the risks and benefits of surgery, he wished to proceed. His wife was identified as the surrogate decision maker.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Yale University School of Medicine, 950 Campbell Avenue, West Haven, CT, 06517, USA

    Melissa F. Perkal

  2. Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA

    Melissa F. Perkal

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  1. Melissa F. Perkal
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Correspondence to Melissa F. Perkal .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, Department of Surgery, Yale University, New Haven, 06520, Connecticut, USA

    Ronnie Ann Rosenthal

  2. Downstate Medical Center, State University of New York, Clarkson Ave. 450, Brooklyn, 11203, New York, USA

    Michael E. Zenilman

  3. , Chairman, Department of Surgery, Sinai Hospital, 2401 West Belvedere Avenue, Baltimore, 21215, Maryland, USA

    Mark R. Katlic

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Perkal, M.F. (2011). Palliative Care and Decision Making at the End of Life. In: Rosenthal, R., Zenilman, M., Katlic, M. (eds) Principles and Practice of Geriatric Surgery. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6999-6_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6999-6_16

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