[Informing the surgical patient. Reflections on the basic law of patient autonomy]

The basic law of patient autonomy represents a new point of reference for surgeons in terms of their obligation to inform the patient and obtain consent. The main contribution of this new law is its explicit recognition of the patients autonomy in decision-making in medicine, leading to new obligations among health professionals in matters of information and consent. Nevertheless, because of the special characteristics of surgery, these legal principles need to be contextualized within the reality of surgical practice in order to harmonize rights, obligations and ethical values. In light of this new law, the present article aims to provide a reflection on the complexities of providing information in surgical practice with a view to identifying areas of conflict and making recommendations for their resolution.