Leveraging the Tracking Operations and Outcomes for Plastic Surgeons Database for Plastic Surgery Research: A “How-To” Guide

Abstract

Summary: The Plastic Surgeries Registry Network supported by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) and the Plastic Surgery Foundation offers a variety of options for procedural data and outcomes assessment and research. The Tracking Operations and Outcomes for Plastic Surgeons (TOPS) database is a registry created for and used by active members of ASPS to monitor all types of procedural outcomes. It functions as a way for individual or group practices to follow surgical outcomes and constitutes a huge research registry available to ASPS members to access for registry-based projects. The TOPS registry was launched in 2002 and has undergone several iterations and improvements over the years and now includes more than 1 million procedure records. Although ASPS member surgeons have proven valuable assets in contributing their data to the TOPS registry, fewer have leveraged the database for registry-based research. This article overviews the authors’ experience using the TOPS registry for a database research project to demonstrate the process, usefulness, and accessibility of TOPS data for ASPS member surgeons to conduct registry-based research. This article pairs with the report of the authors’ TOPS registry investigation related to 30-day adverse events associated with incision location for augmentation mammaplasty.

Prompting Rigor in Database Reporting: Working Toward Higher-Quality Plastic Surgery Database Research

“…Surgical simulation allows development of these skills, reducing mistakes, shortening surgical time, and improving results in vivo. 4 We performed a surgical simulation experimental study, evaluating traditional and modified auricular templates as guides for carving ear frameworks on Ipomoea batatas, comparing and analyzing the obtained results.…”

“…3 Despite outcomes data being unaffected, the completeness of a database as a whole directly relates to the strength of the evidence stemming from it. 4 Participating plastic surgeons ought to provide complete preoperative profiles of their patients when entering data into TOPS, especially given that such information should be readily available and easily accessible.…”