Surgeons and HIV/AIDS: Medico-Legal Considerations

The prevalence of HIV cases among patients in recent times has assumed a worrisome dimension and thus pose a great challenge to health-care providers who come in direct contact with patients' blood and other body fluids in the course of their duty. Prominent among these personnel are Surgeons and nurses. The uncertainty of patients' HIV status, inadequacy or near total absence of appropriate safety facilities for health-care providers and lack of clearly defined policies on management of HIV/AIDS in most health-care institutions pose a great challenge and makes the issue of operating on HIV positive patients topical. This paper examines the right of HIV positive patients to surgicare vis-à-vis the need to protect the Surgeon from possible transmission of infection from the patient during surgical procedures. Recommendations are also made towards achieving a regime of safe work condition and environment for Surgeons, while protecting the rights of the patients.