At the Peninsula NHS Treatment Centre in Plymouth some of the surgeons are UK trained and some trained elsewhere in Europe. This paper examines the outcomes of a large series of joint replacements from 2006 to 2008 at a minimum of one year follow up to determine whether the place of orthopaedic specialist training makes any difference to the outcome. The same implants were used by all surgeons and the anaesthetic technique and post-operative management was identical. 1700 patients were interviewed by a structured telephone questionnaire with over 92% follow-up and the results entered into a joint replacement database. Additional data about length of stay and blood transfusion was added. Results will be presented about length of stay, transfusion requirements, any further treatment or hospital attendance relating to the new joint, reoperation, deep or superficial infection, hip dislocation, VTE and patient satisfaction. The surgeon's place of orthopaedic training was found to make no difference to the surgical outcome.
