Abstract
Background
Evaluation of outcomes and satisfaction following hallux valgus (HV) surgery is usually retrospective and rarely uses patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs).
Design
Prospective Cohort Study. Postal evaluation survey of patients who had provided pre-operative PROMs data.
Methods
Consecutively recruited patients completed the Manchester-Oxford Foot Questionnaire (MOxFQ) prior to surgery. Of 91 patients (124 feet) proceeding to one-stage HV surgery, 69 of 88 eligible patients (78%; 95/124=77% feet) returned a postal follow-up questionnaire including the MOxFQ and a standard satisfaction rating for surgical outcome around 8 years (range 7.4 to 8.9) later.
Results
Of the 69 respondents, patients' mean pre-operative age was 49.8 (SD 12.5) years; 66 (95.7%) were female. Of the 95 feet, 78 (82.1%) patients were ‘Very pleased’ or ‘Fairly pleased’ with the outcome, with 17/95 (17.9%) ‘Not very pleased/very disappointed’. Change in all 3 MOxFQ scales showed a significant linear relationship with satisfaction ratings (ANOVA p<0.001) with MOXFQ pain change scores for the ‘very pleased’ response in particular being significantly different from those of other response groups.
Conclusions
At around 8 years following HV surgery, the majority of patients were pleased with the outcome. Change in the MOXFQ pain scale is particularly important in interpreting patients' satisfaction with surgery.
