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What Is Considered Proper Disclosure For A Surgical Procedure To Obtain Informed Consent?
What is considered proper disclosure for a surgical procedure to obtain informed consent? My wife recently had a LSH and we had detailed discussions with the Surgeon and Anesthesiologist regarding the procedure and our concerns with the level of muscle paralysis needed. the procedure was described to us as my wife asleep on her back, with all the surgical activity taking place through the laparoscopic ports. In reality we was placed in stirrups, several pieces of equipment attached to her vagina/cervix, she was tilted at a 45 degree angle for two hours, and given over 20 types of drugs including Succinylcholine and Zemuron. She also made it clear that she was to be given no narcotic painkillers, and upon reviewing the medical record we found she was administered Dilaudid 4 different times in the recovery room. We have confronted the Drs. with these issues and they either apologized, or said it was just standard medical protocol and no one asks for that level of detail. My wife feels that she was medically assaulted based on this, and would have never signed the consent forms if she knew what was actually going to be done to her. The LSH was for a benign condition, and a totally elective surgery.
Tue, 28 Jan 2014
Hi and thank you so much for this query.
I am so sorry to hear about this miscommunication of information. No doctor would consider operating on a client who denies pain medications. It is simply not possible and considered torture to allow someone go through surgery without appropriate pain medications. It does not sit well. In a consent, all the details cannot be related to you. It is more about what has to be done, the risk and the benefits. The how is medical an you cannot be expected to understand all of that jargon before giving a consent. It is simply asking to know the exact mechanism of how Tylenol works before taking it. It is not just possible in the real world.
I hope this addresses your query fully. Thank you so much for using our services and do feel free to ask for more clarification or information if need be. I wish you well.
Dr. Ditah, MD.
I am so sorry to hear about this miscommunication of information. No doctor would consider operating on a client who denies pain medications. It is simply not possible and considered torture to allow someone go through surgery without appropriate pain medications. It does not sit well. In a consent, all the details cannot be related to you. It is more about what has to be done, the risk and the benefits. The how is medical an you cannot be expected to understand all of that jargon before giving a consent. It is simply asking to know the exact mechanism of how Tylenol works before taking it. It is not just possible in the real world.
I hope this addresses your query fully. Thank you so much for using our services and do feel free to ask for more clarification or information if need be. I wish you well.
Dr. Ditah, MD.
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