When and why do you cancel surgery?
-Wednesday, January 1, 2014
I'm on call this week for our hospital's Critical Limb Care program. First thing Monday morning I had a call from a cardiologist who wanted to know whether to proceed or cancel an angioplasty (PCA). The case was an ablation of the right atrium. The problem was that the patient presented with a mid shin wound that had been present for 3 weeks. The question at hand was whether the wound was infected and would contaminate the procedure. 'What should I do? Cancel the case?'
