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Surgical Emergencies in the Palliative Care Setting

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Surgical Emergencies in the Cancer Patient

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Abstract

Palliative care may be defined as “an interdisciplinary team approach to care with a focus on comfort and quality of life rather than prolongation or ‘cure’ for a patient and their loved ones” (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 13:337–339, 2004). This definition stresses the interdisciplinary nature of palliative care, and marks the importance of the surgeon in this setting. Emergency situations are crystallized in the setting of advanced disease. The decision making may be especially difficult not only for patients and caregivers, but also for clinical teams. Fortunately, true emergencies are rare and typically allow time to consider the risks and potential benefits of surgical interventions.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Southern Arizona Veterans Affairs Health Care System, University of Arizona College of Medicine, SAVAHCS Surgical Care Line, 2-112, 3601 S. 6th Ave, Tucson, AZ, 85723, USA

    Robert S. Krouse M.D., F.A.C.S.

  2. Division of Surgery, Department of Surgical Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA

    Brian Badgwell M.D., M.S., F.A.C.S.

Authors
  1. Robert S. Krouse M.D., F.A.C.S.
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  2. Brian Badgwell M.D., M.S., F.A.C.S.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robert S. Krouse M.D., F.A.C.S. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, City of Hope Medical Center, Duarte, California, USA

    Yuman Fong

  2. Department of Surgery, City of Hope Medical Center, Duarte, California, USA

    Rondi Marie Kauffmann

  3. Surgical Oncology Hepatobiliary Surgery, City of Hope Medical Center, Duarte, California, USA

    Emily Marcinkowski

  4. Department of Surgery, City of Hope Medical Center, Durate, California, USA

    Gagandeep Singh

  5. Department of Surgery, City of Hope Medical Center, Duarte, California, USA

    Hans F. Schoellhammer

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Krouse, R.S., Badgwell, B. (2017). Surgical Emergencies in the Palliative Care Setting. In: Fong, Y., Kauffmann, R., Marcinkowski, E., Singh, G., Schoellhammer, H. (eds) Surgical Emergencies in the Cancer Patient. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44025-5_30

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44025-5_30

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-44023-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-44025-5

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