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To the Editor. —Being an active and interested surgeon in a community hospital, I find Dr Lee Sataline's ( Arch Surg 114:347, 1979) categorical remarks about surgeons focusing only on surgical problems and neglecting the preoperative and postoperative care of their patients to be disturbing. In my experience, I have had the responsibility for all preoperative and postoperative care. It is very seldom that I see a patient in consultation who requires any less. In our situation, the medically oriented doctors are continually wanting to transfer their sick patients to the care of a surgeon. Even the most innocuous procedures are referred to the surgeon. These are procedures such as bone marrow aspirations, sigmoidoscopic examinations, and insertion of subclavian catheters. It is my opinion that the modern-day surgeon is well versed and eager in total patient care and is not seeking an easy life.