How should surgeons balance transplantation innovation with acceptance of a trauma survivor's appearance?

Carly Parnitzke Smith

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

Clinical and ethical issues involved in counseling a patient about reconstructive surgery for a traumatic and disfiguring injury require special consideration. This article proposes prioritizing 2 considerations: (1) the influence of traumatic experiences on a survivor's cognitive processes and (2) insights into a survivor's acceptance of his or her posttrauma appearance or consent to high-risk or experimental surgery, which can be gained from dialectical behavior therapy. This article argues that these priorities should be explicitly discussed by plastic surgeons counseling patients whose appearances are altered by trauma.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)953-959
Number of pages7
JournalAMA Journal of Ethics
Volume21
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - 2019

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Issues, ethics and legal aspects
  • Health(social science)
  • Health Policy

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