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Updated: Jan 27, 2026

Principles of Rodent Surgery for the New Surgeon
Published on: January 6, 2011
Decisional conflict in surgical patients: Should surgeons care?
Mélissa Roy1, Christine B. Novak1, David R. Urbach1
1From the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont. (Roy, Novak, McCabe, Schroeder); the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont. (Roy, Urbach, Okrainec); the Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont. (Urbach); and the Division of Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont. (Okrainec).
Summary:
Decisional conflict represents a state of uncertainty regarding an action one must take. It is a concept inherent to shared decision-making and can help promote high-quality and patient-centred decisions in surgical care, leading to better outcomes. Specific elements may cause more uncertainty or decisional conflict for patients: lack of knowledge about risks and benefits, poorly defined personal values about the importance of those risks and benefits, perception of a lack of support, unpredictable outcomes, or the impression that an inadequate decision has been made. Decisional conflict can be measured in the surgical setting using the 16-item validated patient-reported Decisional Conflict Scale (DCS). Better understanding of the reasons behind high decisional conflict can help surgeons support high-quality decisions and lead to more satisfactory outcomes and less decisional regret.
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