A study of the opinions of Swedish healthcare personnel regarding acceptable outcome following decompressive hemicraniectomy for ischaemic stroke

ConclusionsThis study has highlighted the ethical problems when obtaining consent for DC following mMCAI, because for many of the participants the most likely neurological outcome would be deemed unacceptable. These issues need to be considered prior to surgical intervention and the time may have come for a broader societal discussion regarding the value of a procedure that converts death into survival with severe disability given the attendant financial and healthcare resource implications.
Source: Acta Neurochirurgica - Category: Neurosurgery Source Type: research