A Quantitative Analysis of Online Plastic Surgeon Reviews for Abdominoplasty

Abstract

Background: Online reviews increasingly influence patients’ decision-making. This is the first systematic, quantitative analysis of online reviews for abdominoplasty. Methods: Reviews for abdominoplasty were sampled from RealSelf, Yelp, and Google for six major metropolitan areas. A standard social sciences framework known as grounded theory was used to evaluate factors affecting satisfaction. The relative importance of factors was quantified using odds ratios. Results: Seven hundred ninety-four reviews met inclusion criteria. There was significant geographic variation with respect to number of reviews (p < 0.01) and average rating (p = 0.014). The authors identified 10 statistically significant themes affecting satisfaction. Of these, aesthetic outcome was the most mentioned theme [n = 368 (46.3 percent)] and the most dominant driver of satisfaction. Interactions with staff had the second highest odds ratio, driven by the fact that all negative staff interactions led to negative reviews. Postoperative care had the next highest odds ratio, and was demonstrated to counteract the negative effects of poor surgical outcomes on satisfaction. The occurrence of a surgical complication and the cost of surgery were least associated with satisfaction. Conclusions: This analysis is the first to use quantitative methods to identify dominant and nondominant factors affecting patient satisfaction in cosmetic surgery. The authors found that aesthetic outcome, staff interactions, and postoperative diligence were the most critical factors affecting satisfaction in abdominoplasty, whereas postoperative complications and cost were least important. Understanding the relative importance of factors may help to improve and protect one’s online reputation.

Online Patient Reviews of Breast Reconstruction: RealSelf Analysis

“…Although there is hesitation about online reviews as they may undermine a surgeon's expertise, 21 our study found overwhelmingly positive results. These results were not only found in breast reconstruction, but also for abdominoplasty, 22 blepharoplasty, 23 and rhytidectomy. 24 However, this information differs from available BREAST-Q data as one study demonstrated that women are on average satisfied 78.2% compared with our finding of 94.33%.…”

Which Factors Are Important to Women When Choosing a Breast Reconstruction Surgeon?

“…Similar to the aesthetic surgery market, we find that women are still influenced by online reviews and reputation when selecting a breast reconstruction surgeon. Online reviews and advertising in plastic surgery have been shown to be influenced by outcomes unrelated to surgical outcome, including interactions with other staff and cost, 39 with many reviews written by those who were seen in consult for but did not undergo surgery. 40 Although many of these reviews are nonmodifiable, our study suggests that even academic breast reconstruction surgeons should be aware of their online presence and profile in terms of how it translates to rapport with potential patients.…”

Development and Initial Validation of a Novel Professional Aesthetic Scale for the Female Abdomen

“…Research suggests that aesthetic outcome is a major predictor of patient satisfaction after abdominoplasty, further underlying the need to develop a robust aesthetic scale. 15 We aimed to build on Salles and colleagues' work by integrating layperson perceptions of abdominal aesthetics into the design of a professional aesthetic scale for the abdomen. In this article, we describe the development and initial validation of the scale, which uses crowdsourced, layperson opinions on abdomen aesthetics to weight scale items.…”

“…Research suggests that aesthetic outcome is a major predictor of patient satisfaction after abdominoplasty, further underlying the need to develop a robust aesthetic scale. 15…”