This text provides a comprehensive review of the ethical issues involved with the development
evaluation and introduction of new treatments of gastrointestinal diseases. How several
landmark surgical innovations were developed are described to show the challenges faced and
the ethical dilemmas these innovators dealt with. The challenges of dealing with regulatory
issues and how to work with industry partners and investors when working on a new therapy is
described. Once a new technology has been brought to the market standards need to be developed
regarding the training credentialing and adoption of the new technology. There are
insufficient standards of how to balance the desire to provide patients the latest therapy with
the obligation that patients receive informed consent about the new technology and the
relationship that the physician may have had with product development. The book describes the
national perspective of paying for new technology and provides one insurance company's
approach to the introduction of innovative therapy. The Sages Manual Ethics of Surgical
Innovation will be a resource for surgeons researchers and health policy personnel to
understand the ethical issues related to the development introduction and adoption of
innovative therapies for gastrointestinal diseases. Although the context for discussion is the
application of innovation to gastrointestinal disease the ethical issues are applicable to any
discussion of innovative medical or procedural therapies.
