title: Is Patient Education About Adhesions a Requirement in Abdominopelvic Surgery?
abstract: Background:Over the past decades, our knowledge and understanding of adhesions and adhesion-related complications has increasingly grown and it has become evident that adhesions have significant implications for patients, physicians and the healthcare system. The question arises whether this has resulted in greater awareness of adhesion-related problems among practicing physicians and appropriate patient education on this topic in daily practice. The following article provides a brief overview of the important subject of adhesions, discusses current awareness of adhesions among patients and doctors and addresses the consequences of failure to provide patient education and consent from a medical perspective.Methods:Selective literature searches were conducted in PubMed and the Cochrane Library. A patient information and consent form was developed based on several years' experience and expertise in the field of adhesions.Results:Adhesions are the most common type of complication in abdominopelvic surgery today, with devastating consequences for some patients. Surveys investigating the awareness of adhesions among physicians and patients clearly showed that even well-informed physicians fail to educate their patients adequately. Such failure could potentially lead to successful medical malpractice lawsuits against doctors.Conclusion:Considering their clear clinical impact, adhesions and related consequences should always be discussed with patients preoperatively. A newly developed consent form that specifically addresses adhesion formation may serve to thoroughly educate patients preoperatively and to adequately document the process of doing so.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology, Obstetrics and Gynaecological Oncology, Pius-Hospital, Oldenburg.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hirschelmann
authors.affiliation: Division of Gynaecological Surgery, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen.
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Wallwiener
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wallwiener
authors.affiliation: Department of General and Visceral Surgery, Pius-Hospital, Oldenburg.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Weyhe
authors.affiliation: Clinic for Minimal Invasive Surgery, Berlin-Zehlendorf.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tchartchian
authors.affiliation: Queensland Centre for Gynaecological Cancer, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston, Queensland, Austria.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hackethal
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology, Obstetrics and Gynaecological Oncology, Pius-Hospital, Oldenburg.
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: De Wilde
keywords: adhesion prophylaxis; adhesions; awareness; lawsuit; patient education