The first wave of NHS performance data for individual surgeons in England is being published today on the NHS Choices website.
The first two conditions to have gone live on the site are adult cardiac surgery and vascular surgery, with a further eight surgery types to begin posting data over the next few months.
The data shows where the clinical outcomes for each consultant sit against the national average.
The site also highlights that, where results differ significantly from the national average, there may well be good reasons, which it enc9ourages the public to discuss with their GP or surgeon.
The information available for each type of treatment will vary, but in all cases it is listed how many times each consultant has performed a particular procedure.
Welcoming the move, Dr Karina Herren, medical director of Bupa health Funding said: "Publishing surgeons' NHS data is a great step forward and we'd like to see them extend this to their private practice.
"We want to work with consultants and private hospitals to publish more information about their quality so customers can make more informed decisions about their care."
Future publication list:
•Thyroid and endocrine surgery (surgery on the endocrine glands). To be published June 30 2013
•Bariatric surgery (surgery to treat obesity). To be published June 30 2013
•Interventional cardiology (heart disease treatments carried out via a thin tube placed in an artery). To be published July 1 2013
•Orthopaedic surgery (surgery for conditions affecting bones and muscles). To be published July 1 2013
•Urological surgery (surgery on the kidneys, bladder and urinary tract). To be published July 5 2013
•Colorectal surgery (surgery on the bowel). To be published in autumn 2013
•Upper gastrointestinal surgery (surgery on the stomach and intestine). To be published in autumn 2013
•Head and neck cancer surgery. To be published in autumn 2013
Data will be released to the choice in the NHS site
