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

Abstract

Background: Women undergoing breast reconstruction often research their health care provider options. The authors studied which factors may influence how a woman selects a plastic surgeon for breast reconstruction surgery. Methods: An online survey was distributed by means of Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk; Amazon Web Services, Inc., Seattle, Wash.) to 1025 adult women. Participants were asked to imagine a scenario in which they had breast cancer, needed to undergo mastectomy, and were choosing a reconstructive surgeon. They were then asked to rank factors influencing this decision on a 1 to 7 Likert scale. Two-sample t tests were used to compare Likert scores between dichotomized categories based on participant characteristics. Results: Women assigned the highest scores [mean (standard deviation)] to online reviews on Vitals or WebMD [6.1 (1.2)], years of experience [5.7 (1.4)], recommendations from another surgeon [5.7 (1.3)] or family/friend [4.9 (1.7)], and attending a top medical school [4.7 (1.7)]. Lowest ranked factors were online advertising and surgeon demographics, including having a sex concordant (female) surgeon. After amalgamation into attribute subsections, mean (standard deviation) rated relative importance of surgeon reputation [0.72 (0.13)] was higher than that of appearance [0.46 (0.19)] and demographics [0.31 (0.13)]. Patient demographics influenced relative importance of certain attributes; older, educated, and higher-income patients placed higher value on surgeon appearance (all p < 0.05). Conclusions: When selecting a breast reconstruction surgeon, women place the highest value on surgeons’ online, educational, and personal reputations. Though most show no strong preferences for surgeon demographics or physical attributes, specific features may be important for some patients. Cognizance of these preferences may enable providers to more effectively understand patient expectations.

How reliable are post-mastectomy breast reconstruction videos on YouTube?

“…Moreover, the signi cance of online reputations may be part of the reason for the high levels of sponsorship we see in YouTube content. Sergesketter and colleagues nd that, when choosing a breast reconstruction surgeon, "women place the highest value on surgeons' online, educational, and personal reputations" [21].…”

Assessing the Benefits and Downsides of Physician Review Websites to Plastic Surgeons

“…P hysician review websites are becoming increasingly influential in determining plastic surgeons' reputations in both private practice and academic settings. 1 In fact, 47.5% of today's patients trust online reviews as much as a doctor's recommendation. 2 Physician review websites provide a public, easily accessible way for patients to evaluate a plastic surgeon's reputation.…”

“…Physician review websites are becoming increasingly influential in determining plastic surgeons' reputations in both private practice and academic settings 1 . In fact, 47.5% of today's patients trust online reviews as much as a doctor's recommendation 2 .…”

The Effect of Growing Price Transparency on The Plastic Surgeon

“…The reported most influential factor for patients when choosing a plastic surgeon is reputation. 3,4 Price has not historically been studied as a factor for provider selection, but its consideration may be warranted if pricing information becomes widely available.…”