Should Patients Record Their Own Surgeries?

A recent New York Times article highlighted the case of a patient who secretly recorded her surgery at a major hospital. While she had understandable reasons — she'd had multiple procedures and wanted to make sure she wasn't missing important information — the case raises some important questions about recording in the operating room, patient communication, and medical chart documentation.

Medical information is highly complex, and many people don't have strong health literacy. On top of that, medications given around the time of surgery affect memory. It's completely understandable that patients want something recorded or written down so they don't miss important details.

Dr. Killeen has addressed this in her own practice by recording short messages or writing notes to patients on a HIPAA-compliant texting service after surgery — explaining what was found in the operating room so patients have a clear record even if the medications affect their recall.

While the desire to record is understandable, secretly recording people is not the right approach. There are several concerns:

• Consent matters — everyone in the room should have the ability to consent to being recorded
• Both parties need access — as a physician, Dr. Killeen wants access to any recording because statements can be altered, cut out of context, or edited to change their meaning
• Sterility and logistics — patients are typically disrobed and in surgical gowns, with personal belongings stored securely outside the OR for sterility reasons

Some people argue that surgeons should wear body cameras like police officers. While there's an interesting argument for transparency, it's logistically very difficult in a hospital setting:

• Physicians are rarely alone with a patient — there are teams of people and other patients nearby
• HIPAA compliance would be a nightmare with constant filming in shared spaces
• Many healthcare workers simply don't want to be surveilled 24/7

For laparoscopic surgery, video recording is already common and relatively easy. If you're having a laparoscopic procedure and want to see it, you can always ask your surgeon if that's possible. However, Dr. Killeen cautions that surgical footage can be very difficult to interpret without medical training and may be more upsetting than helpful when everything is actually going fine.

The case also raised questions about how gender identity is documented in hospital charts. In modern electronic health record systems like EPIC, patient charts typically include:

• Sex assigned at birth — important for medical screening and care decisions
• Gender identity
• Preferred pronouns

This information is usually clearly visible before even opening the chart. It's critical that sex assigned at birth remains documented because certain medical screenings depend on it. At the same time, patients absolutely deserve to be treated respectfully and referred to with their correct pronouns.

Patients deserve to understand what happens during their surgery and to have that information communicated clearly. The solution isn't secret recordings — it's better communication from surgical teams, whether that's post-op notes, recorded messages, or thorough follow-up conversations. And in every interaction, patients deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.