Patients' understanding of "informed consent" in plastic surgery.

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).

CONCLUSIONS

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.