Surgical Informed Consent Revisited: Time to Revise the Routine?

All surgery carries risk. Both surgeon and patient enter into an agreement acknowledging a certain level of risk for a belief in benefit. The surgeon, with considerably more experience on the subject, proposes the operation. The patient, often stressed by a life-changing diagnosis, consents to proceed. Upon hearing about risks of surgery, many patients would rather ''die trying'' than do nothing Patients commonly trust that the surgeon will achieve the best possible outcome and agree to proceed with surgery.