Patients’ understanding of “informed consent” in plastic surgery

Patients’ understanding of “informed consent” in plastic surgery
José Neder, Netto Roberto, Augusto de Carvalho Campos, Reginaldo Raimundo Fujita
Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira, August 2021; 67(8) [Brazil]
Summary
Objective
To assess the patient’s understanding of the informed consent form before and after plastic surgery.
Methods
This was a prospective analytical descriptive study that utilized a questionnaire on informed consent before and after plastic surgery procedures.
Results
Comprehension of informed consent was higher before surgery than after surgery (p=0.016; question 15). The higher the scholarity, the higher the comprehension (s=0.151; p=0.045) before surgery (question 4). For the other questions, it was not possible to find a difference in the pattern of understanding and in the association with the educational attainment level after surgery (s=0.180; p=0.046; question 1).
Conclutions
The patients’ level of comprehension of the details, outcomes, possible complications, and postoperative evolutions of surgical procedures, as stated by the informed consent form, is high.