Editorial Commentary: The Forgotten Joint Score-Don't Compare Apples to Oranges

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic surgery outcomes research
• Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs)

Background:

• Patient outcomes are increasingly evaluated by satisfaction, moving beyond objective metrics.
• Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are gaining traction for assessing surgical success.
• The Forgotten Joint Score (FJS) assesses patient awareness of surgical intervention in a joint.

Discussion:

• The FJS is validated for specific procedures but not for comparing dissimilar surgical techniques.
• Using patient perception scores to compare divergent surgical approaches lacks validation.
• Scoring methods must be used selectively and with caution.

Key Insights:

• Objective measurements alone do not define surgical success.
• The FJS is a reliable tool for specific, validated surgical procedures.
• Comparing dissimilar surgical procedures using the FJS is not supported by current data.

Outlook:

• Further research is needed to validate PROMs for comparing diverse surgical methods.
• Developing appropriate scoring techniques for comparing varied surgical interventions is essential.
• Emphasize the importance of using validated outcome measures for specific surgical contexts.