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Neurosurgical Ethics in Practice: Value-based Medicine pp 73–86Cite as

Severe Neurosurgical Conditions in Children

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Abstract

Vulnerable populations require a special application of bioethics to protect their rights, and babies and small children are the archetypal vulnerable population. They cannot speak for themselves and must rely on surrogate consent or substitute decision making usually from their parents. This can lead to conflicts between the patients’ parents and members of the healthcare team.

This chapter examines, through three examples encountered by neurosurgeons every day and everywhere, ethical challenges of treating babies and children with major neurosurgical conditions which have a high likelihood of altering quality and/or quantity of life. The examples are large thoracic myelomeningocele, intramedullary spinal cord tumor, and malignant tumor of the thalamus. The concepts of “too much” care, and inappropriate, disproportionate, and futile care are introduced. Other chapters which bear further on this subject include 5, 8, 9, and 12.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, 2040, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    T. H. R. de Jong MD

  2. Intensive Care Medicine, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    Erwin J. O. Kompanje PhD

Authors
  1. T. H. R. de Jong MD
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  2. Erwin J. O. Kompanje PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to T. H. R. de Jong MD .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Neurosurgery, King Fahd University Hospital, Dammam University, Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia

    Ahmed Ammar

  2. Division of Neurosurgery, Toronto Western Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

    Mark Bernstein

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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de Jong, T.H.R., Kompanje, E.J.O. (2014). Severe Neurosurgical Conditions in Children. In: Ammar, A., Bernstein, M. (eds) Neurosurgical Ethics in Practice: Value-based Medicine. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-54980-9_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-54980-9_7

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-54979-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-54980-9

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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