Commentary on: Social media in plastic surgery practices: emerging trends in North America

Predicting Public Interest in Nonsurgical Cosmetic Procedures Using Google Trends

BACKGROUND

Google Trends (GT) provides cost-free, customizable analyses of search traffic for specified terms entered into Google's search engine. GT may inform plastic surgery marketing decisions and resource allocation.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to determine GT's utility in tracking and predicting public interest in nonsurgical cosmetic procedures and to examine trends over time of public interest in nonsurgical procedures.

METHODS

GT search volume for terms in 6 ASPS and ASAPS nonsurgical procedure categories (Botox injections, chemical peel, laser hair removal, laser skin resurfacing, microdermabrasion and soft tissue fillers [subcategories: collagen, fat, and hyaluronic acid]) were compared with ASPS and ASAPS case volumes for available dates between January 2004 and March 2019 with the use of univariate linear regression, taking P < 0.01 as the cutoff for significance.

RESULTS

Total search volume varied by search term within the United States and internationally. Significant positive correlations were demonstrated for 17 GT terms in all 6 ASPS and ASAPS categories: "Botox®," "collagen injections," "collagen lip injections" with both databases; and "chemical skin peel," "skin peel," "acne scar treatment," "CO2 laser treatment," "dermabrasion," "collagen injections," "collagen lip injections," "fat transfer," "hyaluronic acid fillers," "hyaluronic acid injection," "hyaluronic acid injections," "Juvederm®," and "fat transfer" with just 1 database. Many search terms were not significant, emphasizing the need for careful selection of search terms.

CONCLUSIONS

Our analysis further elaborates on recent characterization of GT as a powerful and intuitive data set for plastic surgeons, with the potential to accurately gauge global and national interest in topics and procedures related to nonsurgical cosmetic procedures.

What Does it Mean to Be a #PlasticSurgeon? Analyzing Plastic Surgery Hashtag Utilization in Social Media

BACKGROUND

The utilization of social media is growing among academic and private practice plastic surgeons.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to determine training backgrounds and board certification of medical professionals through the use of plastic surgery-related hashtags on a single social media platform, Instagram.

METHODS

Instagram was queried with 15 plastic surgery-related hashtags. Only the top 50 posts of each hashtag were analyzed at a single time point and international accounts were excluded. Data collected included account owner, degree, medical specialty, board certification, and type of post.

RESULTS

The study sample consisted of 750 posts from an Instagram query in January 2019. Medical professionals accounted for 75% (n = 561) of posts. Board-certified physicians accounted for 56% (n = 420) of posts. Of the physician posters, 51% (n = 230) were trained in plastic surgery, 30% (n = 133) in otolaryngology, and 19% (n = 87) in other specialties. Facial rejuvenation content was more likely to be posted by otolaryngologists rather than plastic surgeons (P ≤ 0.001), whereas body-contouring procedures were more likely to be posted by plastic surgeons. Nonsurgical procedures and injectables were more likely to be posted by nonphysicians (P ≤ 0.001). Physicians without training in plastic surgery or otolaryngology were also more likely to post nonsurgical procedure-related hashtags (P ≤ 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Medical professionals publish the majority of plastic surgery-related posts on Instagram; however, the utilization of plastic surgery hashtags by other specialties may be confusing or misleading to social media users who are unaware of interdisciplinary training differences.

Emerging trends in social media and plastic surgery

Social media has increasingly changed the landscape of medicine and surgery and is rapidly expanding its influence in most peoples' lives. The average person spends nearly 2 hours per day using social media, consuming information about everything from family updates to entertainment news to presidential elections. The concentration of consumers on social media platforms has resulted in direct medicine and medical products marketing to consumers. Similarly, social media is increasingly becoming a platform for interaction between physicians and potential patients. Some physicians have taken this opportunity to better educate patients, while allowing patients to learn more about their surgeons online. These tools can increase internet traffic online to bonafide internet sites, as well as bolster marketing for many hospitals, hospital systems, and individual doctors. It can also serve to increase knowledge about procedures and conditions through direct outreach to patients. Social media is a powerful tool which needs to be utilized wisely to avoid pitfalls.

A plastic surgeon's guide to applying smartphone technology in patient care

BACKGROUND

The vast array of information technology available to plastic surgeons continues to expand. With the recent introduction of smartphone application ("app") technology to the market, the potential for incorporating both social media and app technology into daily practice exists.

OBJECTIVES

The authors describe and evaluate the smartphone applications most pertinent to plastic surgery.

METHODS

Smartphone apps from all available markets were analyzed for various factors, including popularity among general consumers, ease of use, and functionality. Using various advertising guidelines from plastic surgery societies as well as the US Food and Drug Administration, each app's content was further analyzed within the context of ethical obligations.

RESULTS

The apps with the highest number of ratings were those offering the option to upload photos and morph each photo according to the user's own preference. The title of apps also appears to play a role in popularity. A majority of apps demonstrated the same features available on websites.

CONCLUSIONS

The applicability of social media marketing via smartphone apps has the potential to change future patient-surgeon interactions by offering more personalized and user-friendly encounters. The role of smartphone apps is important to the future of plastic surgery as long as plastic surgeons maintain an active role in the development of these apps to ensure their value.