Sham Surgery Trials: Potential Benefit for Patients

Sham-controlled randomized trials, which involve sham surgical procedures, are essential for evaluating the risks and benefits of some surgeries. This study explores the ethics of sham surgery trials and argues that patients can benefit from participating. When the procedure under study is ineffective, patients who receive the sham procedure experience fewer harms than the full procedure entails. Even when the procedure is effective, the primary harm to sham participants is the delay in receiving the beneficial intervention. This perspective suggests rethinking the ethics of sham surgery trials.