[Complaints of patients or their relatives regarding surgical complications]

The authors analyse complaints of patients or their relatives in connection with surgical complications in 1987 to 1997 and illustrate them by short case-records. During this period, they evaluated 52 complaints and among them 27 fatal. Most complaints were from abdominal surgery. Finally, they emphasize the importance of high surgical professionality, early discovery of a complications, early, sufficient and suitable informing of the patient and his relatives, by the head of the department and in severe or fatal complications the management of the hospital. They emphasize also the requirement of precise and exhaustive records and autopsy.