To compare the number of risks memorized by patients before parotid surgery for benign tumor after receiving standard oral and written information versus the same information with an additional educational video, in France.

A single-center prospective controlled randomized study was conducted from July 2017 to October 2019 with 69 patients operated on for a-priori benign parotid tumor. Median age was 52 years (range, 20 to 87 years). Mean interval from preoperative consultation to surgery was 100 days. The cohort was randomized between two groups: without (control group) and with (experimental group) additional audiovisual information. The main endpoint was the number of risks remembered, out of seven listed. Results were expressed as median with interquartile range. The secondary endpoint was the impact on memorization of age, gender, education level, interval to surgery, and type of planned surgery.

Twenty-nine patients were analyzed in the control group and 27 in the experimental group. The number of risks remembered ranged from zero to five and was significantly greater in the experimental group: median 2 [IQR, 2–3] versus 1 [0–2] (P<0.005). The best remembered was transient facial palsy (41 patients). In the control group, one third of the patients did not remember any risks. There were no significant correlations between individual factors and memorization.

Although subject to many methodological biases, our study showed that additional audiovisual information improved memorization of the risks associated with parotidectomy.