Division of Education

Disclosing Surgical Error: Vignettes for Discussion

This DVD provides teaching tools to stimulate dialogue regarding strategies for communicating effectively about surgical errors and adverse outcomes with patients and their families. The vignettes on the DVD involve a surgeon who encountered major arterial bleeding after inserting a Veress needle to insufflate the patient’s abdomen during a routine laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The scenes depict the surgeon discussing the error and current status of the patient with the family, and may be used as the basis of discussion regarding the disclosure of errors and adverse events, as well as effective and ineffective approaches to disclosure. The DVD’s vignettes may be used as freestanding trigger tapes for small group discussions with surgeons, surgical residents, or medical students, or may be incorporated into a comprehensive course.  

The content does not provide legal advice, nor does it establish the standard of care on disclosing surgical error. This project was supported by the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality Grant U18 HS12021 and is free of charge. Developed by the ACS Division of Education.

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