A common fallacy prevalent in surgical culture is for surgical intervention and palliation to be regarded as mutually exclusive or sequential strategies in the trajectory of surgical illness. Modern surgeons play a complex role as both providers and gatekeepers in meeting the palliative needs of their patients. Surgical palliative care is ideally delivered by surgical teams as a component of routine surgical care, and includes management of physical and psychosocial symptoms, basic communication about prognosis and treatment options, and identification of patient goals and values. Specialty palliative care services may be accessed through a through a variety of models.
