Need source for "When not to cut" quote?

May 23, 2012 8:14 AM

I need a reputable source for the surgical maxim that suggests that a good surgeon knows when not to cut.

I have quoted it for an article as from Halsted:

‘The only difference between a good surgeon and a bad surgeon is that the good surgeon knows when not to cut.’

But I cannot find a reliable original source for that attribution or wording, and more commonly online it seems to be an anonymous aphorism:

"an average surgeon knows how to cut and a good surgeon knows when to cut and better surgeon knows when not to cut."

I am now unsure whether it's really Halsted, and unsure whether there is a definitive wording for an often repeated maxim.

posted by roofus to Health & Fitness (2 answers total)

Response by poster: It's also in this book as Halsted, but quoted as:

"The biggest difference between a good surgeon and a poor one is this: A good surgeon knows when not to cut."

posted by roofus at 8:19 AM on May 23, 2012

It's worth noting that this is itself a reformulation of the idea behind "the better part of valour is discretion" from Shakespeare's Henry IV Part One. I know it's not exactly what you are looking for but I hope it's relevant.
posted by MuffinMan at 8:27 AM on May 23, 2012