Surgeons who like to sing while they cut and sew in the operating room should feel comfortable about continuing on after the BC Health Professions Review Board dismissed a complaint from a patient offended by his eye surgeon’s vocals.

The unnamed cataract surgery patient filed a complaint to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC after the eye surgery in May, 2011. Since he was awake the whole time, the patient could hear everything. He said he heard his surgeon not only singing while implanting a new lens, but also discussing with others in the OR his plans to take home the hospital’s linens, so he could wash his car with them.

The precise song and the quality of the surgeon’s singing voice is not mentioned.

The College dismissed the complaint and then the patient appealed to the Review Board.

Dr. Shelley Ross, president of the B.C. Medical Association, agrees with the outcome.

“From one who has spent many years in the OR, the time the patient should get concerned is when the singing or talking stops and there is complete silence,” she said in an email.

David Hobbs, chair of the review board panel, said the complainant thought the surgeon’s singing and chatter was “unacceptable, arrogant, disrespectful and shameful.”

But the review board agreed with the College that the complaint was trivial.

Susan Prins, spokeswoman for the College, said the patient’s care wasn’t compromised by the surgeon’s conduct but the regulatory body still must remind doctors that they have to be professional in all interactions with patients.

Just before the National Hockey League playoffs a few years ago, the College decided to warn surgeons to skip Vancouver Canucks chit-chat to avoid upsetting patients.

The College said talking about things other than the surgical task at hand in the operating room was unprofessional and inappropriate. That warning arose after the college received a complaint from a patient who heard his eye surgeon talking hockey with the scrub nurses. He said it made him uncomfortable because he worried it would disrupt his surgeon’s concentration, possibly leading to a mistake.

College registrar Dr. Heidi Oetter was unavailable for an interview Wednesday but when previously asked about such matters she said that doctors should be discreet, not only in the operating room but in any area where they might be overheard chatting with associates about seemingly irrelevant, non-medical topics.

``In a patient-centred system, you first consider the patient. Some patients may want to hear their surgeon announce what is happening and other patients may not want to hear a word,’’ she said, noting it’s up to surgeons to gauge the level of comfort patients have with conversation or background music.

While some surgeons use music in the operating room to heighten their concentration or to relax, Oetter said patient preference should also dictate whether it’s used, especially if patients are alert during procedures.