When the Best Option Comes With the Worst Risk

Issue - September - 2025, Posted On: 01 September 2025

A senior patient with liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension had already been through chemotherapy for a large liver tumour. While the treatment had reduced its size, earlier consultations — including with military hospital specialists and a gastroenterologist — had led to one consistent caution: surgical resection was too risky.

But a hepatobiliary surgeon at a reputed hospital thought differently. Based on imaging and current tumour behaviour, he offered surgical resection as the only curative hope. According to the patient’s family, he was assured of minimal risk and advised to go ahead — allegedly without involving them in the consent process.

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