{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,2]],"date-time":"2026-09-02T15:14:00Z","timestamp":1788362040430,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":13,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]],"date-time":"2026-08-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788134400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["The American Surgeon\u2122"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Surgical complications often persist in a patient\u2019s memory long after physical recovery has been achieved. This reflective narrative describes the case of a woman who presented 5 years after excision of a benign posterior mediastinal mass. Although re-exploration undertaken for postoperative drain bleeding revealed no active source of bleeding, and she went on to recover completely, she continued to identify herself as \u201cthe re-exploration case.\u201d Her experience illustrates how clinical language, conversations among staff, and perioperative uncertainty may shape a patient\u2019s self-perception and recollection more powerfully than a favorable clinical outcome. Complications are also known to affect surgeons, giving rise to distress, guilt, and self-doubt. Surgical care must, therefore, incorporate respectful communication, compassionate support, and due attention to the enduring emotional consequences of adverse perioperative events.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/00031348261485247","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]],"date-time":"2026-08-31T11:03:41Z","timestamp":1788174221000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The Long Memory of Surgical Complications: A Reflection on Patients, Surgeons, and Healing"],"prefix":"10.1177","author":[{"given":"Pankaj Kumar","family":"Garg","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Shri Guru Ram Rai Institute of Medical and Health Sciences, Shri Guru Ram Rai University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_2_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/00031348231184197"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_3_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2014-007224"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_4_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/jamasurg.2018.5640"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_5_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s00268-017-3895-9"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_6_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/bjs\/znaf258"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_7_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/sla.0000000000005153"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_8_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1227\/neu.0000000000001921"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_9_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pec.2023.107675"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_10_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s13193-025-02433-2"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_11_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.21037\/tau.2017.06.28"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_12_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s13193-024-02175-7"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_13_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.5489\/cuaj.7300"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_14_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s13193-026-02619-2"}],"container-title":["The American Surgeon\u2122"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/00031348261485247","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1177\/00031348261485247","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/00031348261485247","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,2]],"date-time":"2026-09-02T14:26:36Z","timestamp":1788359196000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/00031348261485247"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]]},"references-count":13,"alternative-id":["10.1177\/00031348261485247"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/00031348261485247","relation":{},"ISSN":["0003-1348","1555-9823"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0003-1348","type":"print"},{"value":"1555-9823","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]]},"article-number":"00031348261485247"}}