POSAS Observer Scale (Scar Assessment)
POSAS Observer Scale (Draaijers 2004): the observer rates six scar characteristics - vascularity, pigmentation, thickness, relief, pliability, surface area - each 1 (like normal skin) to 10 (worst scar imaginable).
Open the calculator → Runs in your browser. Data leaves only if you deliberately send a problem report from the interactive tool.
Example
- Vascularity
- 5
- Pigmentation
- 4
- Thickness
- 6
- Relief / surface roughness
- 5
- Pliability
- 4
- Surface area
- 3
- Overall opinion
- 5
Result: POSAS Observer total 27 of 60 (overall opinion 5/10) — higher is worse (6 = normal skin).
The tool opens with these values already filled in. Replace them with your own.
What the result means
- Use
- No fixed cut-points; 6 = normal skin, higher = worse. The overall opinion (1-10) is recorded separately, not in the total. Best for tracking change.
What you enter
- Vascularity (1-10)
- Pigmentation (1-10)
- Thickness (1-10)
- Relief / surface roughness (1-10)
- Pliability (1-10)
- Surface area (1-10)
- Overall opinion (1-10, optional; not in total)
How this is calculated
- Items
- vascularity, pigmentation, thickness, relief, pliability, surface area - each 1 (normal skin) to 10 (worst). Total = sum, 6-60.
Draaijers LJ, Tempelman FR, Botman YA, et al. The Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale: a reliable and feasible tool for scar evaluation. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2004;113(7):1960-1965. Read the source ↗
A reference and educational tool. Not medical, legal, or financial advice, and not a substitute for clinician judgment.