Patients' expectations of knee surgery.

Area of Science:

• Orthopaedic Surgery
• Patient-Reported Outcomes
• Health Psychology

Background:

• Patient expectations significantly influence treatment requests, outcome assessments, and satisfaction with medical care.
• Understanding preoperative expectations is crucial for managing patient satisfaction and treatment success in orthopaedic procedures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To measure patients' preoperative expectations regarding knee surgery.
• To develop and validate patient-derived surveys for assessing knee surgery expectations.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative analysis of open-ended patient responses identified 52 expectation categories.
• Two draft surveys were created and tested for reliability in a second sample of 163 patients.
• Items were selected based on frequency, clinical relevance, and reliability (kappa ≥ 0.4).

Main Results:

• Identified expectations ranged from pain relief and improved mobility to psychological well-being.
• Expectations varied based on diagnosis and patient characteristics.
• Two reliable and valid surveys were developed: the Knee Replacement Expectations Survey (17 items) and the Knee Surgery Expectations Survey (20 items).

Conclusions:

• Patients hold multifaceted expectations for knee surgery, encompassing physical, functional, and psychosocial aspects, which differ by diagnosis.
• The developed surveys are valid and reliable tools for preoperative patient education, shared decision-making, and goal setting.
• Postoperative reassessment of expectations can serve as a key patient-derived metric for evaluating surgical outcomes and satisfaction.