Abstract
Every surgeon needs to audit the quality of his work to ensure that complication rates are low, good function persists for the intermediate term, and patient satisfaction remains high. The use of the 12-point shortened WOMAC score and Orthowave patient satisfaction survey provides enough information for quantitative assessment of most practices. When applied to my hip arthroplasty practice, analysis of data related to 426 consecutive patients at 1–9 years of follow-up (mean 3.5) revealed pain relief was good to excellent in 96%; rate of recommendation of surgery was 97%. Overall satisfaction was good to excellent in 95%. Mean WOMAC scores improved from a preoperative mean value of 32.5 to mean 6.6 at latest follow-up. When the same scoring system was applied to my knee arthroplasty practice, results were surprisingly inferior. Potential areas for technical improvement were then identified and implemented. This study highlights the simplicity and usefulness of the shortened WOMAC score and Orthowave patient satisfaction survey in assessing and improving an arthroplasty practice.
Correspondence should be addressed to: EFORT Central Office, Technoparkstrasse 1, CH – 8005 Zürich, Switzerland. Email: office@efort.org
