The assessment of patient satisfaction forms an important component in the evaluation of clinical outcome, although there are few tools which allow the patient or guardian to provide a visually objective demonstration of success. We introduce a tool incorporating objective criteria, for the use of a patient or guardian in the assessment of the post-operative functional and aesthetic result of congenital ptosis surgery.

Forty children who had congenital ptosis surgery by an ophthalmologist at our tertiary level unit were identified and postal PTOSIS questionnaires were sent to the home address of their parents or guardians. The survey included information on the operation performed, subjective questions on the perceived pre and post-operative experience, a visual image allowing the assessor to mark pre and post-operative lid position and a section for comments.

There was a 57.5% response rate with 23 returned surveys. Four of these surveys were completed by the child themselves. All responses demonstrated an understanding of the visual success portion of the PTOSIS questionnaire and Likert-scale responses supported an encouraging view of the service provided at our unit. Both subjective and objective portions of the questionnaire were completed thoroughly by all respondents.

Our results demonstrate that this tool can form a useful part of the operative experience for a patient and their family. Implementation of the tool from the beginning of the consultation could allow a more accurate assessment of the pre-operative lid position and the tool could therefore function throughout the period of hospital experience.