METHODS: This paper describes how one surgical team handled a difficult case of futile care and provides an interview from the perspective of a surgical resident.
CONCLUSIONS: The case report gives one example of how the news of futile care was delivered and how appropriate steps were taken to provide continued management of the patient and support to the family. A systematic review of the literature surrounding futile care reveals no consensus on how to define futile care within the medical community.
CONCLUSIONS: There is a paucity of information surrounding how surgeons should manage cases of futile care. The literature focuses on the physician-patient relationship and includes methods for delivering bad news, yet it fails to identify a consensus definition of futile care and does not provide guidelines that future surgeons can follow when they encounter these cases. With this paper we seek to open a discussion about how to define futile care and how to teach future surgeons best practices when managing these cases.