Letter to the editor: Safety in surgery and overall health: What is the responsibility of the patient?

摘要

In his article about the role of patients in optimizing their overall health status in anticipation of a major operation, Dr. Lee [2] discusses the importance of modifiable risk factors for surgical outcomes. Webb et al. [3] surveyed smokers who were having surgery, and the authors identified "significant knowledge deficits" regarding the association of smoking with poor wound healing, infections, and other complications. Despite counseling by surgeons, general practitioners, and others, 75% of the patients in the survey reported that they continued to smoke up to the day of the operation and 51% made no attempt to quit [3]. The importance of patient education and participation cannot be overemphasized, whether regarding overall health status or the specific operation to be performed. Indeed, DiGiovanni [1] found that only 59% of patients scheduled for foot and ankle surgery followed directions that they were given during patient-education sessions that were designed to avoid wrong-site surgery. Clearly, we still have a long way to go in educating patients and encouraging them to participate in their health care planning.