Atul Gawande: preference

Transcript context

…That’s what I would do. [laughs] Right. [laughs] In neurosurgery, they’re actively part of the operation because they’re often speaking and telling you things so that you know if you’re causing any difficulties. But what we’ve found even in the kinds of operations I do, which are not brain operations, is that being able to ask them from the very beginning of the operation to be part of the team by saying, “Are we on the same page about what your medical issues are, what your goals are for the operation, what we have to look out for in addition to the usual safety things, but also what are the key things?” “Oh, I tend to have a bad back, and I don’t want to lie in this position for too long.” In many ways, having people awake can be far safer. The other thing though is that there are people who, when they’re awake, don’t handle it very well. [laughs] And you have to be able to adjust on the fly, and people have to understand that you may need to. Why do surgeons sometimes leave sponges behind in the bodies of patients who are being operated on?…

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