Evaluation of patient feedback following laparoscopic cholecystectomy based on information described in the informed consent form developed by the Association of Polish Sur

The cholecystectomy procedure is the most routinely performed intervention in general surgery. The current international gold standard is via the laparoscopic approach. It is a safe, minimally-invasive procedure; however, it is associated with complications in 1% of cases. The aim of the study was to analyze patient feedback, by means of a survey, to determine how much knowledge patients possessed about their disease state and proposed surgical intervention, based primarily on information contained within the informed consent form developed by the Association of Polish Surgeons. Material and methods. This study involved the participation of 51 patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy, indicated by a diagnosis of gallstones, in the years 2014 and 2015. Results. Despite having signed the informed consent form, there was considerable variation among the responses given to the survey by the 51 patients in this study. Some patients’ responses were tangential to the questions asked; many patients did not respond to any of the sub points. Conclusions. Given that this study is based on a small sample size of patients, it must be presumed that the process by which the patient declares his or her informed consent requires further consideration with respect to the means by which it is obtained. The authors of this study thus recommend that multimedia resources be harnessed as part of the process of obtaining the informed consent of patients prior to surgical intervention.