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Public perception of the field of plastic surgery
Author(s) -
Gill Patwinder,
BruscinoRaiola Frank,
Leung Michael
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
anz journal of surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.426
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-2197
pISSN - 1445-1433
DOI - 10.1111/j.1445-2197.2011.05753.x
Subject(s) - medicine , perception , field (mathematics) , plastic surgery , surgery , neuroscience , mathematics , pure mathematics , biology
Background: This study aims to assess the public's understanding of the scope of the practice of plastic surgeons, to determine if there is a need to increase awareness of the nature of a plastic surgeon's work. Methodology: A cross‐sectional study was performed. Participants were systematically selected from the White Pages for a telephone survey. The participants' demographics were recorded. Participants were excluded if they or anyone they knew had prior interactions with a plastic surgeon. Participants selected the most common area of specialization of plastic surgeons. The final set of questions determined their choice of surgeon in three different scenarios: breast reduction, excision of skin cancer from the facial region and hand trauma. Results: Two hundred and thirteen of the 257 participants were eligible to complete the survey. Sixty‐five per cent were female, with 38% between the ages of 46 and 65 years. The dominant field of practice was reconstructive surgery (36%). Just 19% of participants would consult plastic surgeons across the three clinical scenarios. Dermatologists (47%) were chosen over plastic surgeons (24%) to excise skin cancers from the face. Breast surgeons (53%) were chosen over plastic surgeons (23%) to perform breast reduction surgery. In hand trauma, 58% of participants would consult a hand surgeon and merely 10% would consult with plastic surgeons. Discussion: The general public's understanding of plastic surgery is poor. This may be linked to the misunderstanding of specialist titles and lack of education regarding this field.