Do children need to know? Clinical and ethical concerns With caregivers not telling children about surgery
Topic overview
This case examines the ethical and clinical challenges when a caregiver chooses not to inform a 5-year-old child about planned G-tube surgery on the day of the procedure. The clinical team advocates for developmentally appropriate preoperative preparation to minimize postoperative confusion and distress, highlighting the importance of trauma-informed communication in pediatric surgical care.
Key takeaways
- Preoperative disclosure to pediatric patients is ethically important even when parents prefer nondisclosure due to anticipated anxiety.
- Children who wake from surgery with unexpected devices (e.g., G-tubes) may experience confusion, distress, and erosion of medical trust.
- Developmentally appropriate preparation in the preoperative area can mitigate trauma while respecting parental concerns about timing.
- Trauma-informed communication balances parental authority with the child's right to honest information about their own body and care.
- Clinical teams should proactively address parental hesitancy about disclosure to prevent postoperative psychological harm to the child.
Keywords
Hashtags
Full article text
Full article text not available for this entry
How to cite: GlobalCastMD. Do children need to know? Clinical and ethical concerns With caregivers not telling children about surgery. GlobalCastMD Medical Library. 2025-10-29. https://library.globalcastmd.com/article/11172
Comments