We have a research environment that has fallen apart “- Dagens Medicin

What was the key issue at Friday’s news conference was whether the cheating accused surgeon had engaged in medical or research at the high-profile operations at the Karolinska University Hospital.

Health care was the answer that both the hospital Karolinska Institute landed in.

– There was a vital indication, it was about saving lives and there were no other available therapies. The overall did that when we looked at the patient’s best so we chose to go ahead with these measures, says John Bratt, chief physician at Karolinska University Hospital, told Dagens Medicin.

Karolinska Institutet’s President Anders Hamsten is open to the distinction between research and health care is difficult.

– What we have come to is that the decision that was taken into the hospital’s ethics council in no way included the research. Decision concerned the surgery and what was available was this experimental treatment. To monitor the effect it has since used the analyzes normally not even used in the university health services, he said.

The fact that the Swedish Research Council earlier this year withdrew its funding for the renowned surgeon, he calls unfortunate.

– I assume that the Swedish Research Council will re-examine this.

Meanwhile, the world-renowned surgeon’s research is not entirely flawless. The first of the seven articles that questioned shall be completed and according to Anders Hamsten for even the surgeon discussions of clarification with another magazine.

Was the errors in the first article revealed if the surgeon had not been notified?

– I am not sure. The magazine has been doing a rigorous peer-review and we must all assume that all operators comply with the requirements of good research. Then there is another thing that does not always achieve the highest possible quality, but it is not scientific fraud.

Anders Hamsten do not want to speculate on the possible connection between the charges against the surgeon and the data concerning disagreements in his research group. At the same time, notes the rector of the Karolinska Institute, can not escape the fact that several of the complainants were involved and thus endorsed some of the surgeon’s scientific works.

– They had every opportunity to make their voices heard before the manuscripts sent in, but registrations are coming much later in the process. There have also been complaints against complainants. The conclusion can not be other than that we have a research environment that has fallen apart and we have to manage it so that everyone can move on.

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