KIE: A brief comment is offered on the British House of Lords' decision in Sidaway v. Bethlem Royal Hospital, concerned with the surgeon's duty to warn a patient of the possible risks involved when obtaining informed consent to a proposed operation. A majority of the Lords of Appeal rejected the full doctrine of informed consent as accepted by some states in the U.S. and by the Canadian Supreme Court, but there was disagreement among them on the applicable standard of disclosure. Wells holds that legislation is needed to clarify the issue.