RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Surgeons must discuss the most severe surgical complications with their patients while making a treatment decision. However, it is unclear which complications patients deem most severe. This study aimed to have patients classify potential complications following abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery based on severity using best-worst scaling. METHODS: Dutch patients with an abdominal aortic aneurysm, either under surveillance or following surgery, received a survey with 33 potential surgical complications. The survey presented these complications in sets of three. Patients had to classify one of three complications as most severe and one as least severe. After all participants had completed the survey, the number of times a complication was classified as most severe was subtracted from the number of times that the complication was classified as least severe, thus resulting in a best-worse scaling score. Complications with the lowest scores were ranked as more severe. RESULTS: Fifty out of 79 participating patients completed the survey in full. Patients classified the following ten complications as most severe: Below-ankle amputation, aneurysm rupture, stroke, renal failure, type 1 endoleak, spinal cord ischaemia, peripheral bypass surgery, bowel lesion, myocardial infarction and heart failure. Haematoma was ranked as the least severe complication. CONCLUSION: This best-worst scaling study enabled patients to classify complications following abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery based on severity. Vascular surgeons should discuss the ten complications deemed most severe with their patients and help their patients to effectively weigh the benefits of surgery against the harms patients themselves deem important, thereby improving shared decision making.
Risks following surgery that are discussed with patients prior to surgery often differ per surgeon. By law, surgeons are required to discuss the most common and most severe complications that may occur following surgery with their patients. But what do patients actually consider to be the most severe complications? In this study, we have asked this question to 50 patients with a widened abdominal aorta. These patients were approached via the Dutch patient organisation for people with cardiovascular diseases (Harteraad) and the Amsterdam University Medical Centres. From previous research, we collected 33 complications that may occur following surgery of the abdominal aorta. Using a survey, participating patients were shown three complications at a time. Of these three complications, they had to indicate which complication they considered the most severe complication and which the least severe complication. After all participants had completed their survey, we looked at how often a complication was deemed most severe and least severe. The ten most severe complications according to the participating patients were forefoot amputation, rupture of the widened abdominal aorta, stroke, kidney failure, leakage of blood along the aortic prosthesis, not enough blood supply to the spinal cord or bowels, a narrowing of the arteries in the leg, a heart attack and heart failure. We recommend that vascular surgeons discuss these ten severe complications with their patient, when a decision must be made about whether or not that patient should undergo surgery for their widened abdominal aorta. This will allow patients to weigh the benefits of the surgery against the risks they themselves deem important.