Consent

Risks for all patients:

• Bleeding

• Pain

• Infection

• Allergy to something we inject or the cleaning agent on the skin

• Damage to adjacent structures

Be familiar with common questions:

• Time until effects are noticeable? Usually 5-10 days (could be between 1-15 days; may not be source of pain if there is zero improvement after more than 2 weeks)

• How long will it last? Hard to predict, but most people get relief for at least a few (2-3) months

For women up to ~50yo:

• Ask about possibility of pregnancy if doing procedure on fluoro

For cervical nerve root block patients add:

•  Stroke, neurologic injury (but qualify it with the fact that it’s RARE and we are injecting lots of contrast to take every precaution against that happening – there’s a delicate balance between giving all the risks and scaring the patient off... tread lightly...)

For epidural spinal injection patients add:

• Intra-thecal injection, which is not dangerous, but would not be helpful for the patient, and we would have to reschedule the procedure

For plantar fascia and biceps tendon patients add:

• Risk of fascial or tendon rupture, especially if the structure already partially torn

For biopsy patients add:

• Nondiagnostic biopsy; explain frozen path process so the patients know what to expect (extra time, may need additional sampling)

For Botox patients (fellows are usually not involved in the consent process, but helpful to know) add:

• Difficulty breathing or swallowing or systemic weakness (but qualify it with the fact that this is rare as well, and would be obvious to the patient. It could be delayed, and if it happens, the patient should go to the emergency room).