Truong et al developed a scale for a patient to self-rate the appearance of the scar following breast cancer surgery. This scale can be applied to other surgical scars. The authors are from the Vancouver Island Health Authority and the University of British Columbia.
Original parameters:
(1) pliability (flexibility) of the scar
(2) color of scar
(3) overall satisfaction
Additional parameters added for the modified version:
(4) distortion of site
(5) cosmetic appearance
Responses to 1, 3, 4, 5 |
Responses to 2 |
Points |
excellent |
normal |
0 |
very good |
white |
1 |
good |
pink |
2 |
fair |
red |
3 |
poor |
purple |
4 |
where:
• The original point assignment is 1 to 5 rather than 0 to 4.
• The original scale only had 4 levels for color (normal, pink, red, purple).
• Another parameter might be report hypertrophic scar.
• Responses to 1, 3, 4 and 5 might be excellent, good, fair, guarded, poor. The original responses may be biased to overly positive responses.
total score =
= SUM(points for all 5 parameters)
Interpretation:
• minimum score: 0
• maximum score: 20
• The higher the score the more abnormal the scar.
Limitations:
• The rating scale allows for illogical responses, such as overall dissatisfaction despite otherwise good responses.
• The same scare could be achieved by different combination of responses.
Specialty: Dermatology