Abstract

Surgery is a noble profession whose purpose is to cure disease by removing its source, repairing damage, alleviating suffering, and providing meaningful benefit to the patient. Yet, because but it entails inherent risks, surgery is justified only when those risks are outweighed by the expected benefit and when no superior alternative exists. Consequently, every surgical intervention must ethically and clinically be justified as necessary. Throughout history, however, certain procedures have been regarded as inappropriate or unnecessary. This is a reflection on what may be considered as unnecessary surgery, exploring its potential causes and discusses strategies that may help to reduce its occurrence.

Keywords

unnecessary surgery, ethics, philosophical reflection