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The Ethics of Breast Surgery

  • Breast Oncology
  • Published:
Annals of Surgical Oncology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Breast surgery has evolved as a subspecialty of general surgery and requires a working knowledge of benign and malignant diseases, surgical techniques, shared decision-making with patients, collaboration with a multi-disciplinary team, and a basic foundation in surgical ethics. Ethics is defined as the practice of analyzing, evaluating, and promoting best conduct based upon available standards. As new information is obtained or as cultural values change, best conduct may be re-defined. In 2014, the Ethics Committee of the ASBrS acknowledged numerous ethical issues, specific to the practice of breast surgery. This independent review of ethical concerns was created by the Ethics Committee to provide a resource for ASBrS members as well as other surgeons who perform breast surgery. In this review, the professional, clinical, research and technology considerations that breast surgeons face are reviewed with guidelines for ethical physician behavior.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Baptist Cancer Center, Memphis, TN, USA

    Alyssa Throckmorton MD, FACS & Lindi VanderWalde MD

  2. University of Tennessee, Memphis, TN, USA

    Alyssa Throckmorton MD, FACS

  3. Coastal Carolina Breast Center, Murrells Inlet, SC, USA

    Craig Brackett MD

  4. Dana Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center, Boston, MA, USA

    Laura Dominici MD, FACS

  5. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Thomas Eisenhauer MD, FACS

  6. Legacy Cancer Institute, Portland, OR, USA

    Nathalie Johnson MD, FACS

  7. Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA

    Amanda Kong MD, MS, FACS

  8. Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN, USA

    Kandice Ludwig MD

  9. Arizona Associated Surgeons, Phoenix, AZ, USA

    Jennifer O’Neill MD, FACS

  10. University Hospital, Augusta, GA, USA

    Matthew Pugliese MD, FACS

  11. Atirus Health - Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, Boston, MA, USA

    Paige Teller MD

  12. Department of General Surgery, Levine Cancer Institute, Carolinas HealthCare System, Charlotte, NC, USA

    Terry Sarantou MD, FACS

Authors
  1. Alyssa Throckmorton MD, FACS
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  2. Lindi VanderWalde MD
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  3. Craig Brackett MD
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  4. Laura Dominici MD, FACS
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  5. Thomas Eisenhauer MD, FACS
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  6. Nathalie Johnson MD, FACS
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  7. Amanda Kong MD, MS, FACS
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  8. Kandice Ludwig MD
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  9. Jennifer O’Neill MD, FACS
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  10. Matthew Pugliese MD, FACS
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  11. Paige Teller MD
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  12. Terry Sarantou MD, FACS
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alyssa Throckmorton MD, FACS.

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Throckmorton, A., VanderWalde, L., Brackett, C. et al. The Ethics of Breast Surgery. Ann Surg Oncol 22, 3191–3196 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-015-4751-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-015-4751-5

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