We describe the development and validation of a scoring system for auditing orthopaedic surgery. It is a minor modification of the POSSUM scoring system widely used in general surgery. The orthopaedic POSSUM system which we have developed gives predictions for mortality and morbidity which correlate well with the observed rates in a sample of 2326 orthopaedic operations over a period of 12 months.

We describe the development and validation of a scoring system for auditing orthopaedic surgery. It is a minor modification of the POSSUM scoring system widely used in general surgery. The orthopaedic POSSUM system which we have developed gives predictions for mortality and morbidity which correlate well with the observed rates in a sample of 2326 orthopaedic operations over a period of 12 months. The assessment of outcome after surgical intervention is not a new science. As early as 1750 BC King Hammurabi of Babylon issued a number of decrees relating to surgeons and their surgery. The most infamous of these codices was that if a surgeon operated on a free man and the patient became blind or worse still died, the surgeon should have his operating hand cut off. While, to some a modification of this codex may still seem to be in operation, many have attempted to devise more reliable and robust methods for assessing the outcome of surgical intervention.

No abstract