Abstract: At the down of my professional career, I would like to share with the audience, and particularly, to my younger colleagues, few cases which to me, represented a big challenge, and in which my initial diagnosis was erroneous, before reaching a correct one. Through such asp; &nbprocess, patients were directly affected, and in few cases, my errors affected entire families, by preventing ideal management or by not adequately identifying at a proper time , a probable relation with systemic or hereditary conditions and /or other affected organs. Even the most experienced pathologists either committed or will commit diagnostic errors, Pathology, the specialty we choose to practice, is not always as straight forward or as obvious as black or white. Therefore, teamwork and proper consultation with more experienced and knowledge colleagues should be a gold standard of our daily practice.
On other side the spectrum, our human errors when do not compromise or severely damage the life or quality of life of our patients, will serve to place us and our conscience at the right dimension of our limited human knowledge, as Pathology , with its subspecialties included, is such a vast and constantly changing science, that knowing the microscopic morphology, immunohistochemical, molecular and genetic features of every known tumor is virtually impossible. Then, is an ethical part of our practice, to accept our limitations, no matter how much effort you put in studying, reading and sharing information with others. The acceptance of this fact should serve us to remain humble and seek advice every time we need it. This does not mean weakness, but rather, a route to achieve professional and ethical excellence. I hope my errors help you to understand the importance of honesty, humbleness, and the need to constant continued education, as much as it helped me. Diagnostic errors are far different from malpractice and negligence. And challenging and difficult diagnoses are far different from colleagues graduated from post-graduate programs lacking high academic and scientific standards.
Mini CV: Staff Pathology Department at Integra Cancer Center and Hospital Herrera Llerandi , Guatemala City. Fellow, Oral Pathology and Medicine,Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation, La Jolla, California. Councillor for Latin America and Ex-President of International Association of Oral Pathologists. Fellow, American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology. Residency, Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, University of Florida. Diplomate (Board Certified), American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology. Author/Co-Author of over 60 articles in peer review, indexed scientific journals and book chapters. Editorial Board as reviewer (past and current): Oral Oncology,Oral Diseases,Oral Surgery Oral Pathology Oral Medicine and Radiology,Head and Neck Pathology,Saudí Dental Journal.
