Addressing attendees at the launch webinar, Prof John Quinlan, INOR Clinical Lead and President of the Irish Institute for Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery, highlighted the strength of the findings at a national and international level.

The outcomes after 30 days show that really the figures in Ireland are excellent. They are comparable with, if not better than, anywhere else in the world. And this is something, as a group of arthroplasty surgeons and indeed multidisciplinary teams, we should be really proud of.”

Safe care and strong patient outcomes

Hip and knee replacement surgery is typically performed to relieve pain and restore mobility for patients living with conditions such as osteoarthritis. While these procedures are complex, the INOR data show consistently low complication rates and excellent patient outcomes.

Less than 1% of patients experienced a surgical site infection within 30 days of surgery, and approximately 1% required revision surgery within one year. Thirty‑day mortality following surgery remained extremely low at 0.1%.

The findings also point to the complexity of care, with around one‑third of patients having a body mass index (BMI) over 30, reinforcing the importance of pre‑operative optimisation and multidisciplinary support.

A key strength of the register, speakers noted, is its inclusion of patient‑reported outcome measures (PROMs), which capture patient experience alongside clinical data.

Prof Quinlan emphasised this during the webinar, acknowledging both clinicians and patients involved in data collection.

One of the unique features of INOR is it’s the only audit that has patient‑related outcome measures (PROMs). We are extremely indebted to our local audit coordinators who collated all this information. We’re also grateful to the patients who are sharing this data, which Prof Jan Sorensen will take you through later on - however a quick glance will show you quite clearly that patients are reporting very significant improvements in all aspects of their lives following arthroplasty.”

Osteoarthritis and the patient experience

The report confirms that osteoarthritis remains the overwhelming reason patients undergo joint replacement surgery, accounting for 94% of hip replacements and 97% of knee replacements.

Speaking during the webinar, Tara Regan of Arthritis Ireland, and Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) representative for INOR, reflected on how understanding of the condition has evolved stating that it used to be "considered a wear and tear joint disease. However, we know now that it’s a much more complex condition involving an abnormal repair process and inflammation involved."

She also highlighted the importance of real patient experiences in understanding the impact of joint disease and the benefits of surgery.

This report also highlights a case study, which was Pieter’s story, and he talks about the negative and debilitating impact of pain and loss of activity and engagement in activities that he experienced prior to surgery. Pieter’s hip surgery was a success, which is fantastic.”

You can read Pieter's story on page 10 of the report.

Looking to the future of the register

In addition to presenting findings, the webinar looked ahead to the future development of INOR. The report recommends extending implementation of the register to all sites providing joint replacement surgery, strengthening national implant tracking to support patient safety and recall.

During the question‑and‑answer session, former INOR Clinical Lead Prof Finbarr Condon spoke about the importance of expanding the scope of the register over time.

This type of project has to extend to shoulders, ankles and all the joint replacements but also all the orthopaedic implants and devices inserted into any patient by any specialist.”

Closing the launch, Prof Quinlan described the publication of the report as a milestone for orthopaedic care in Ireland. “This is a great day for Irish orthopaedics and is only the beginning. A lot done and a lot more to do.”

The Irish National Orthopaedic Register National Report 2015–2024 along with it's summary are now available for download.