Technical success is a procedural term used to describe whether a medical or surgical technique was performed as intended, without intraoperative failure or deviation from the planned intervention.

Technical success refers to the completion of a planned medical or surgical procedure according to predefined technical criteria, without intra-procedural complications or deviations.

• Deployment of a stent in the intended anatomical location
• Successful embolization of a target vessel without device migration
• Completion of a tumor resection with intraoperative goals met

The term is often misused to overstate clinical value, especially in studies lacking follow-up or outcome data. Common issues include:

• Equating technical success with clinical efficacy
• Using vague or post hoc definitions (e.g., “achieving the desired outcome”)
• Ignoring patient-centered endpoints (e.g., survival, function, recurrence)

A procedure may be “technically successful” but clinically irrelevant or even harmful if it does not improve patient outcomes or if long-term complications are ignored.

• Clinical success
• Procedural efficacy
• Outcome-based endpoints
• Surrogate markers
• Unjustified enthusiasm