I Will Just Go Home and Die

doi:10.1017/9781009400886.022

Chapter 21 - I Will Just Go Home and Die

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 December 2025

Paul J. Ford

Edited by

Denise M. Dudzinski,

Kaarkuzhali Babu Krishnamurthy and

Paul J. Ford

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Denise M. Dudzinski: Affiliation:
University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle
Kaarkuzhali Babu Krishnamurthy: Affiliation:
Boston Medical Center-Brighton
Paul J. Ford: Affiliation:
The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland

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Summary

A patient in the preoperative area suddenly refuses to go forward with the removal of infected wires unless he is given assurances that the rest of his brain implant will remain in place. He indicates that he will go home and die rather than have the implant removed. The patient, surgeon, ethicist, and wife all convene to resolve the time sensitive issues. The short-term outcome is very positive, but there is an unexpected longer-term outcome that was unsettling.

Keywords

DBS clinical ethics contingent suicide professionalism surgical ethics die

Information

Type: Chapter
Information: Complex Ethics Consultations
Cases That Haunt Us in a New Era
, pp. 142 - 148
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009400886.022 [Opens in a new window]
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2026

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