Value of Informed Consent in Tympanoplasty and FESS Procedures

Background: More than one third of all lawsuits against surgeons include statements of insufficient or lacking preoperative informed consent which is mandatory in the german jurisprudence. Almost nothing is known about the postoperative patient's memory of risk factors which were explained prior to typical surgical procedures in ENT. Methods: The objectives of this prospective study in 201 patients were to elucidate the actual clinical routine of obtaining informed consent for tympanoplasty (n = 105) and FESS procedures (n = 89), collect information on active and passive recall 6 weeks, 6 months and 1 year post-operatively, and to investigate whether patient age, sex, education, the time from obtaining consent to interview, recurrent vs. non-recurrent procedures, would influence the patient's recall capabilities. Results: In clinical routine, obtaining informed consent included 5 main items for tympanoplasty and 5 for FESS procedures made by the physician. Of the patients, 18.9% recalled actively and 65.3% passively. They named 1.5 items on average, with "deafness" as the leading complication in tympanolasty and "amaurosis" in FESS procedures. Patient's memory was depending on the time from obtaining consent to interview and education exclusively. Conclusion: In conclusion, the quantity of patient/physician interaction does not guarantee an increased effect on patient's recall. Improving patient interaction may reduce the probability of imminent accusations.