You're right that the point of informed consent is NOT to protect the surgeon (or anyone else on the surgical team) from being sued.
The purpose is really stated in the title: informed consent. Decisions to undergo medical therapies are made in conjuction with medical professionals whom you have enlisted to provide recommendations and expertise. Ultimately, after listening to goals, risks and alternatives, you are the one who must decide what path to take. Part of your decision process needs to be understanding possible outcomes of the treatments you are considering. The risks of surgeries (and all medical treatments) are very real, although in many cases, the stated risks are very remote possbilities. It's sort of a risk/benefit ratio.
When I consent a patient for an elective procedure, I detail the risks and then stress that - although the risks are very small - no matter how careful I and my colleagues are, we can never make the risks ZERO. There is always some small risk to everything that we do. But in general, this is a very common, very safe procedure that is well tolerated by the vast majority of people, yada yada...
You'll do fine. I bet you'll be more in danger driving to the hospital that morning than while undergoing your surgery. Don't fret.
