Extract
J.D. Capozzi and R. Rhodes reply:One purpose of the Ethics in Practice section is to encourage ethical
discussion among our readers and, to that end, we appreciate Mr. Sokol's
letter. We do, however, wish to raise several issues concerning his views on
deception. Not telling a patient that he or she is fat or ugly is not an act
of deception but mere politeness. In fact, for many orthopaedic patients,
obesity is a central component of their illnesses and should be discussed,
albeit in a respectful manner.