What is the Meaning of Informed Consent, Weight Loss Surgery, and the Pediatric Patient?

Abstract

Abstract The informed consent process requires that the individual possess both the means and the information necessary to make a meaningful decision. Both of these requirements may be threatened in the case of the adolescent consenting to weight loss surgery. The informed consent rights of adolescents present significant ethical and legal concerns and considerations for teens, parents of teens, and bariatric nurses. Issues of informed consent and care of a special and vulnerable patient population are presented. The ethical issues pertaining to these processes are described herein along with the special challenges that occur when things go wrong.