Surgeon clinical practice variation and patient preferences during the informed consent discussion: a mixed-methods analysis in lumbar spine surgery

Patients with lumbar disc herniation may greatly benefit from microdiscectomy. Although spine surgeons performing microdiscectomy routinely obtain informed consent, the potential adverse events they disclose often vary. Moreover, little is known about what disclosures are deemed most valuable by patients. The aim of this mixed-methods study was to determine practice variations among spine surgeons in regard to the disclosure of potential adverse events during informed consent discussions for lumbar microdiscectomy and to determine which topics patients perceived to be valuable in the consent discussion.