# At the Frontier: The Ethics of Innovative Surgery #### calendar\_today Date and Time **September 10, 2015** 04:30PM - 06:00PM EDT #### pin\_drop Location **Harvard Medical School, Armenise Building D, Amphitheater, 210 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115** At the Frontier: The Ethics of Innovative Surgery Neuroethics Seminar Series Center for Bioethics, Harvard Medical School All modern surgical techniques were once new, so the ethics of surgical innovation is not a new topic. But as our understanding of the brain advances, so does our ability to surgically treat disorders such as epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, and possibly even depression. Increasingly, we must consider whether innovation in brain surgery poses any special ethical challenges. Since alterations in the brain have the potential to alter cognition, personality, and even the sense of self, do surgical innovations require special ethical consideration? Should "invasiveness" matter ethically, or do we simply weigh risks against benefits? Should we have distinct policy or regulation regarding neurosurgical innovation? Do patients contemplating such innovations require special protections? **Panel**: Paul Ford, PhD (Director of the NeuroEthics Program at Cleveland Clinic); Emad Eskandar MD (Director of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery and Neurosurgery Residency Program, Massachusetts General Hospital); and Elizabeth Hohmann, MD, Chair and Physician Director, Partners Human Research Committees **Co-Sponsors**: The International Neuroethics Society; The Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics (HLS); Center for Law, Brain, and Behavior, (MGH); Institute for the Neurosciences (BWH); Center for Brain Science (Harvard University); Department of Neurobiology (HMS) **With funding from** Mind Brain Behavior Interfaculty Initiative (Harvard University) and The Harvard Brain Initiative Collaborative Seed Grant Program. See to RSVP for this seminar or to get webcast url. Share on:- [ Facebook ](#) - [ Twitter ](#) - [ Linkedin ](#) Save: [ Add to calendar calendar\_today ](https://mbb.harvard.edu/node/686871/event-feed.ics) Copy link link