It’s a tragedy if a patient suffers a stroke when there’s valid reason for the surgery. But if it happens when surgery is unjustified, it’s a catastrophe impossible to measure.
Would you buy an airplane ticket if the pilot refused to check his instrument panel before taking off? You’d probably would run for the woods, choose another airline or decide it’s safer to go by train. But a recent study shows that some surgeons are not following proven surgical guidelines for a potentially fatal operation. What’s needed? A big dose of pilot discipline.
