Feed back of the parents and / or relatives witnessing a squint surgery of their ward in the operation theater

The aim of the study was to know the response of the relatives attending the squint surgery of their ward. A trained secretary administered an eight item questionnaire by live / telephonic interview. Of the 44 attendees, two left the Operation Theater before completion of the surgery. Mean age of the patients was 7.2 years ± 7.8 and that of the attendees was 36.1 years ± 8.5. Forty patients had a surgery under general anesthesia and four under local anesthesia. Eleven (25%) attendees experienced an increase in anxiety. Thirty-six (82%) attendees reported increased transparency, 38 (86%) reported increased confidence, and 43 (98%) reported increased awareness. None found any disadvantage. Twenty-seven (61%) recommended this practice for all and 16 (36%) recommended the practice selectively. The internal validity of the questionnaire was fair (Cronbach's Alpha = 0.6). It was concluded that the presence of relatives in the Operation Theater during the surgery could bring in more transparency, accountability, confidence, awareness, and trust.