NOY

Under the knife

Informed Consent to Surgery: Or, Everything You Wanted to Know About Your Operation But Were Afraid to Ask, by Simon Marinker, MD. Seldor Publications, Price: $9.95

U

NDER THE bright theatre lighis, a masked figure looms, wielding a razor-sharp instrument ... Does Hamlet? No, but when confronted with the

Jason

possibility cf having to undergo any surgical operation, even the most stout-hearted of us is apt to feel as nervous as a prom queen at the Slashers’ Ball.

Much of that unease stems from our own often chosen ignorance about just what is going to be done and why. One overwhelm- ing thought, “‘They’re going to knock me out and cut open my body,’’ tends to make doctors’ well-meant explanations go in one ear and out the other, and doctors themselves are understandably teluctant to terrify preoperative patients with post-op horror stories.

Under these circumstances, you are supposed to give your “‘in- formed consent” to the surgical procedure. Just what constitutes “informed consent” is the sub- ject of Dr. Simon Mazinker’s book, ‘Informed Consent to Surgery: Or, Everything You Wanted to Know About Your Operation But Were Afraid to Ask.

The balance of this informative little book consists of concise, mostly jargon-free, point-by-point rundowns of the most common surgical operations, the reasons for them and the complications that may arise.

_ Somewhat inevitably, as Dr. Marinker recognizes in repeated disclaimers about their infrequen-

. cy, it’s the possible complications

“that stick in your mind. You may find your scalp trying to crawl off your skull! as you read these bits.

But the issue that brackets this otherwise straightforward book is legal rather than medica! — that of “informed” consent. The book has already sparked controversy: The Vancouver Sun’s medical columnist, Dr. Gabor Mate, criti- cized the book in the April 27 issue of the Saturday Review, and Dr. Marinker replied in a letter to the editor in the June 22 issue.

Dr. Marinker offers a com- prehensive definition of ‘‘in- formed consent’ in his opening generai remarks, but admits that “the effectiveness of the expla- nation depends on the ability of your physician and your surgeon to give simple descriptions in simplified language, and on your ability to absorb the information and to understand it clearly.”

Rather more ominously, he ad- mits that, from the point of view of a plaintiff's lawyer, “the more difficult it is to find genuine medi- cal mismanagement, in-

an afternoon of

CHAMBER MUSIC

_ Featuring works from Ludwig van Beethoven © Bohuslav Martinu ® Harry Freedman Albert Roussel © Joaquin Turina ¢ Antonin Dvorak

Performed by ” ‘The Pro Nova Ensemble with guest artists Ann de la Hey, flute and Frederick Nelson, violin Sunday, February 16, 2:30 p.m. Me. Seymour United Church, 1200 Parkgate, North Vancouver (Turn north off the Mt. Seymour Parkway just west of the Mount Seymour tumoff)

Presented by The Deep Cove Chamber Soloists Society (Concert will be repeated Feb. 20, 7:30 pm at the Ferry Bldg, West Van)

John Moore BOOK REVIEW

competence or negligence, the more likely it becomes that the major charge will be a lack of in- formed consent.”’

While he points out that the courts customarily favor a doctor . whose notes indicate he or she has “informed a patient preoperatively,’’ it’s impossible not to see that Dr. Marinker’s well-meant book might be used as a manual for malpractice suits by the unscrupulous, thus increasing the cost of health care to us all, not to mention the personal and

professional stress on doctors who, - 3%

regardless of their fees, put in long and ungodly hours in the service of thee and me.

Dr. Marinker’s book should be read by everyone who has a loved one, or who is about to go “under the knife.”

You have a responsibility to know exactly what is going to happen to you during and after a surgical operation, just as your physician or surgeon has a re- sponsibility to tell you in clear straightforward language. The last thing anyone, especially Dr Marinker, wants to promote is an “adversarial relationship’ be- tween doctor and patient.

As Dr. Marinker points out, we are a different generation, less in- ciined to take things on faith, more inclined to question, better in- formed. But we also take for granted a medical science that has pulled off quantum leaps of knowledge and technique in our own short lifetimes.

As you read this boo remember who ae up in the emergency ward at 3 a.m. after the barbecue and all the beer when you decided the lawn needed mowing and ran the Toro over your foot.

FREE ADMISSION

K 1629 Lonsdale Avenue

We can double your existing storage space e and eliminate the clutter. You won’t find a more complete closet idea centre anywhere! Come in to our store or call today for a Free In-Home Estimate.

irl | PPT ine GEE/ ROWAN Tea

ANHONEST

EVERY WALLPAPER |"

When we say 30% OFF we mean it! NOT “UP TO”, not off “SELECTED” items, not off a fictitious “RETAIL” price but AN HONEST 30% OFF.

Save 30% OFF our ALREADY DISCOUNTED EVERY DAY LOW PRICE on

hundreds of in-stock wallpaper patterns and borders. Save 30% OFF our regular

selling price of every SPECIAL ORDER WALLPAPER BOOK.

Compare the price...you will see that our 30% .°. Fis a better deal.

03123 LATEX a7 B ACRYLIC FLAT at b on173 LATEX 20"

SEMI GLOSS at

65250, LATEX 43" ft RIDE SEALES ae

Cloverdale Paint

Across from SuperValu

N. VANCOUVER 985-6815

Hours: Monday-Thursday: 7:30am-5:30pm Friday: 7:30am-9:00pm Saturday: 3:00am-5:30pm Sundays & Holidays: 10:00am-5:00pm