End of life care in vascular surgery

It is the role of surgeons to have candid conversations with patients facing life-limiting vascular conditions that facilitate attainment of the four aspects of palliative care (physiological and psychological symptoms and social and spiritual needs) at an early stage to exert a meaningful effect on quality of life. Unfortunately, research to date indicates that existing end of life care guidelines are not delivering care for vascular patients in line with other specialties. Future research to investigate the reasons for this, to investigate the effect existing palliative care interventions have on quality of life, and to develop novel interventions is needed to guide comprehensive guidelines within vascular surgery. In addition to a more complete understanding of the specific needs of patients, formal links to improve integration between vascular surgery, palliative care, and primary care are needed, along with formal palliative and end of life care training for vascular surgical teams; these are all imperative to improve the quality of life and death of patients. © Crown copyright 2024.