Shared decision-making and its tools to aid surgeons and their patients: a narrative review

Research on shared decision-making (SDM) has increased, making it an essential clinical practice. Its application in surgery is a reality, despite the difficulties encountered in daily clinical practice, such as lack of time, training, and tools. Indeed, the use of patient decision aid tools (PtDA) improves communication, anxiety, decisional conflict, and patient satisfaction, in other words, quality of healthcare outcomes. Most PtDA tools have been developed in breast surgery and other surgical subspecialities such as colorectal cancer. Their customisation, through simple designs, accessible language, and graphic support, facilitates their integration into daily clinical practice. However, surgeons still require institutional support, training, and greater awareness among the clinicians involved to ensure their success, given that SDM in surgery is already a present reality.