Study: Surgeons often don't discuss end-of-life care

Many US surgeons fail to discuss their patients' wishes in case a risky operation goes awry, and even more would not operate if patients limited what could be done to keep them alive, a survey found.

Such medical wishes and plans for end-of-life care, called "advance directives", outline what can and cannot be done if patients are unable to decide for themselves. The most famous examples are so-called living wills.

But the restrictions are debated among doctors, said the survey, published in the Annals of Surgery.