Has A Surgeon Ever Given Up In The Middle Of A Surgery And Left A Patient/Team Stranded?

This question was originally posted on Quora.com and was answered by Gregory Miner Gustafson, Physician Director Cardiac Catheterization Lab at NYPQ (1994-present)



I know of one terrible story regarding a Surgeon I greatly respected. This event happened in the middle of a relatively straightforward surgery that he was supervising as the senior attending.

The events were told to me by close colleagues; I was not present. As the surgery was progressing normally, he rather suddenly left the OR saying he felt he needed to rest for a few minutes and would return shortly.

When he didn’t return within several minutes, the Chief Resident surgeon that had to continue the operation without the usual Attending to supervise, sent an alarm for the Attending to be located.

The Attending surgeon was found - expired - lying on his bed in an on call room from what was later determined to be a heart attack.

The loss of this physician, who was widely admired, hit us all hard. Fortunately the patient undergoing that surgery did well with no subsequent complications.

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