ABSTRACT
Background Informed consent is a fundamental aspect of modern medical practice that requires effective communication and an ample understanding of medical ethics, patient autonomy, and the legal obligations of healthcare professionals. Maintaining high-quality surgical informed consent is a crucial step in the healthcare process. Thus, we aimed to obtain surgical written consent on abdominoplasty, suction-assisted abdominal dermo lipectomy, and lower body lifting from our hospital database over three months (January to March, 2023) to assess our level across the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) system. Results A total of 45 surgical written consents were obtained and 37 consents remained after exclusion. Bleeding, infection, and hematoma were mentioned in more than 80% of our consents. However, important complications such as ileus and umbilical malposition were never mentioned. Overall, the completion rate of written complications ranged from 14% to 56% in comparison to data from the ASPS. Conclusions Our results show a measurable inconsistency in surgical written consents at our center. Thus, establishing a comprehensive and accurate surgical written consent will aid in protecting our center against deficient surgical written consent accusations, improve the experience of patients, and enhance the quality of service provided by our center.
