Final thoughts on surgical decision-making

Writing an epilogue for all surgical decision-making complexities and intricacies described in this book is not an easy task. Instead we decided to visit the past and see how the work and statements of giants of surgery on the topic relate to modern surgery science. While much has changed in surgery over the last century, in particular in the last few decades and how we approach surgical problems that afflict millions of people around the world, one thing has not changed: the surgeon’s dedication to caring for the sick and injured and striving to improve our surgical decision-making process, in order to get the best possible outcomes. We hope that this work will further this process even slightly and will inspire others to research the surgical decision-making process, as the key element of surgical science.