ACOG Committee Opinion No. 395: Surgery and Patient Choice

Acknowledgement of the importance of patient autonomy and increased patient access to information has prompted more patient - generated requests for surgical interventions not necessarily recommended by their physicians. Decision making in obstetrics and gynecology should be guided by the ethical principles of respect for patient autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice and veracity. Each physician should exercise judgement when determining whether information presented to the patient is adequate. When working with a patient to make decisions about surgery, it is important for obstetricians and gynecologists to take broad view of the consequences of surgical treatment and to acknowledge the lack of firm evidence for the benefit of one approach over another when evidence is limited.