BSOA Project Grant
Understanding which perioperative factors increase complexity and influence quality of life outcomes in revision lower limb arthroplasty
Dr Rachel Baumber
Background
The number of revision hip and knee operations are increasing, and they are becoming more complex due to patients becoming more elderly and so having more long term medical conditions as well as advances in surgical techniques allowing for more complex surgery to be performed. These operations are not without risk and are performed with the aim of improving quality of life for patients. There is currently no data on the quality of life patients experience following these operations and no way to allow for the surgical complexity to be taken into account when counselling patients before their operation.
Aims
The aim of this project is to evaluate all factors around the time of an operation (surgical and anaesthetic) which influence 6 month and 1 year generic quality of life following revision hip and knee operations and to allow the complexity of these operations to be looked into further.
Methods
The Perioperative Quality Improvement Program is already collecting data on co-morbidity, conduct of anaesthesia and postoperative complications. The National Joint Registry already collects data on reason for the revision surgery and the type of implant used, which contributes to the surgical complexity of the operation. There is currently no way to link these two valuable datasets to get a complete picture. The funding from this grant will be used to link these two data sets together to allow analysis of patients undergoing revision hip or knee surgery.
Expected outcomes
To develop a more complete surgical and anaesthetic picture of hip and knee revision surgery to allow for improved risk discussions and to develop best practice with improved patient outcomes as the goal of surgery.
Implications
Improved understanding of the complexity of these operations and knowledge of the expected length of stay in hospital and results from surgery will allow better resource planning and funding for increasingly complex and expensive operations. Best practice guidelines can then be developed to inform surgical and anaesthetic technique and to drive further research into improving outcomes and reducing complications.
