Dementia and high risk surgery: Joel Weissman and Samir Shah
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You have a patient with dementia severe enough that she cannot recognize relatives.\\xa0 She falls and breaks her hip.\\xa0 Should she have an operation, and risk the pain, potential complications, and attendant delirium associated with the operation?\\xa0 Should she be treated non-operatively, with aggressive symptom management?\\xa0 A huge part of this decision rests on (1) her previously stated wishes, values, and goals (prior to the onset of dementia); and (2) the outcomes of surgery for patients with dementia.
In today\\u2019s podcast we talk with surgeon Samir Shah and Health Services Researcher Joel Weissman about a pair of JAGS articles they published on the outcomes of high risk surgery and advance care planning among persons with dementia.\\xa0 Toward the end we get to hear from Samir about how he would approach decision making for a patient such as the above patient, and from Joel Weissman about what\\u2019s to be done about the pressure and incentives our health system exerts to operate, operate, operate.\\xa0\\xa0
-@AlexSmithMD
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