IDEAL framework for surgical innovation 3: randomised controlled trials in the assessment stage and evaluations in the long term study stage

The complexity of surgical procedures often poses challenges for conducting a rigorous and comprehensive evaluation. This paper considers the final two IDEAL stages of surgical innovation. Surgical randomised controlled trials are often challenging to undertake and require careful consideration of the intervention definition, who should deliver it, and the impact of surgeon and patient preferences. In the long term study stage, better monitoring of surgical procedures is needed, along with improved surveillance of devices.