Ethical problems in radiology: radiological consumerism

Patients' perceptions of cosmetic surgery at a time of globalization, medical consumerism, and mass media culture: a French experience

BACKGROUND

The global popularity of cosmetic surgery, combined with mass media attention on medical consumerism, has resulted in misinformation that may have negatively affected the "collective image" of aesthetic practitioners.

OBJECTIVES

The authors assess patients' perceptions of cosmetic surgery and analyze their decision-making processes.

METHODS

During a 2-year period, 250 consecutive patients presenting to either of 2 public hospitals for cosmetic surgery treatment were asked to complete a 7-item questionnaire evaluating their knowledge of opinions about, and referring practices for, aesthetic procedures. Patients undergoing oncologic, postbariatric, or reconstructive procedures were not included in the study.

RESULTS

After exclusion of 71 cases for refusal or incompletion, 179 questionnaires were retained and analyzed (from 162 women and 17 men). Overall, repair (70.4%), comfort (45.3%), and health (40.8%) were the words most frequently associated with cosmetic surgery. Quality of preoperative information (69.3%), patient-physician relationship (65.4%), and results seen in relatives/friends (46.3%) were the most important criteria for selecting a cosmetic surgeon. Moreover, 82.7% of patients knew the difference between cosmetic surgery and cosmetic medicine.

CONCLUSIONS

Although potential patients appear to be more educated about cosmetic surgery than they were several years ago, misinformation still persists. As physicians, we must be responsible for disseminating accurate education and strengthening our collaboration with general practitioners to improve not only our results but also the accuracy of information in the mass media.