How Do Artificial Intelligence, Social Media Platforms and Photo Editing Applications Influence Cosmetic Surgery Choices—Literature Systematic Review and Prospective Study

Abstract

Background: In recent years, social media and AI have indirectly taken control of our daily lives. We bring attention to the impact that social networks, photo-editing applications, and artificial intelligence have on potential patients when they are looking for a surgeon for a possible cosmetic surgery, as well as the criteria they consider in relation to the interest in the use of the internet by surgeons. Methods: A systematic review of the past 10 years (2014–2024) was conducted following the PRISMA structure. PubMed and Google Scholar were searched for articles containing the following terms: plastic/esthetic surgery, social media, AI, filters, dysmorphia. All articles were saved using Zotero software version 6.0.37. We reported a prospective study including a 141 patients applying for esthetic surgical interventions in the time interval between February and October 2021. It also involved 44 esthetic surgeons from Tunisian clinics. The influence of social media was evaluated using questionnaires made based on the literature. Results: Using the keyword search, 71 articles were found. A total of 19 articles were selected for data extraction. It was observed that in the last 3 years, the literature has focused on photo-editing and AI in the cosmetic surgery field. A total of 107 patients chose their surgeon based on a surgeon’s social medias rather than their reputation and their website. Conclusions: The increased advancements of the internet have clearly influenced decision making in the field of cosmetic surgery.