Bioethics and Neurosurgery: An Overview of Existing and Emerging Topics for the Practicing Neurosurgeon

Alexandra J White; Margot Kelly-Hedrick; Stephen P Miranda; Mariam M Abdelbarr; Gabriel Lázaro-Muñoz; Nader Pouratian; Francis Shen; Brian V Nahed; Theresa Williamson

doi:10.1016/j.wneu.2024.07.051

Bioethics and Neurosurgery: An Overview of Existing and Emerging Topics for the Practicing Neurosurgeon

World Neurosurg. 2024 Oct:190:181-186. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2024.07.051. Epub 2024 Jul 14.

Authors

Alexandra J White¹, Margot Kelly-Hedrick², Stephen P Miranda³, Mariam M Abdelbarr⁴, Gabriel Lázaro-Muñoz⁵, Nader Pouratian⁶, Francis Shen⁷, Brian V Nahed⁸, Theresa Williamson⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA.
² Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
³ Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, USA.
⁴ Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
⁵ Center for Bioethics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
⁶ Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, Texas, USA.
⁷ Center for Bioethics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
⁸ Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

PMID: 39004179
DOI: 10.1016/j.wneu.2024.07.051

Abstract

Neurosurgery is a field with complex ethical issues. In this article, we aim to provide an overview of key and emerging ethical issues in neurosurgery with a focus on issues relevant to practicing neurosurgeons. These issues include those of informed consent, capacity, clinical trials, emerging neurotechnology, innovation, equity and justice, and emerging bioethics areas including community engagement and organizational ethics. We argue that bioethics can help neurosurgeons think about and address these issues, and, in turn, the field of bioethics can benefit from engagement by neurosurgeons. Several ideas for increasing engagement in bioethics are proposed.

Keywords: Bioethics; Brain computer interfaces; Ethics; Health equity; Informed consent neurosurgeons; Neurosurgery.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Bioethical Issues
Bioethics*
Humans
Informed Consent / ethics
Neurosurgeons* / ethics
Neurosurgery* / ethics
Neurosurgical Procedures / ethics
Neurosurgical Procedures / methods