What are Board-Certified Plastic Surgeons Posting on Instagram?

BACKGROUND: Plastic surgeons increasingly use social media to market their practices and educate prospective patients. Previous studies have investigated plastic surgery content on Instagram from the angle of hashtags and most popular plastic surgeons. However, very little is understood about what plastic surgeons themselves post on Instagram and what plastic surgery content average users engage with. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to analyze Instagram posts from accounts related to plastic surgeons in the USA to establish suggestions for growing one's practice with this powerful platform to reach patients. METHODS: Board-certified plastic surgeons from all US regions that were active from February 1, 2023 to April 12, 2023 were randomly chosen. Their Instagram accounts were accessed for post analysis. For procedural posts, engagement statistics and multiple variables were collected. Dixon's outlier test was used to determine outliers in the data. ANCOVA and Tukey analysis was used to determine whether procedure type influenced engagement. RESULTS: 120 surgeon accounts were identified with 2157 posts analyzed, yielding notable differences in posts among regions. Most posts were aesthetic procedures (94.4%) and of female patients (90.3%). Surgical procedures were also predominant (86.1%). In addition, Reels had higher engagement than photograph posts. Users engaged with Body procedures at the highest rate. CONCLUSIONS: This cross-sectional analysis shows plastic surgeons tend to overwhelmingly post female patients, aesthetic procedures, and surgical content. These insights may be used to guide social media content and improve the effectiveness of Instagram as a tool for marketing or education. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE IV: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266.

Perceptions of Surgical Drains among Breast Reconstruction Patients and Health Care Staff: A Qualitative Survey Study.

BACKGROUND: Surgical drains are a key component for recovery in breast reconstruction procedures. However, they are often cumbersome and carry a risk of infection with prolonged use. We aimed to develop a more thorough understanding of patient and health care provider perspectives on surgical drains, to inform future efforts in improving the breast reconstruction patient experience. METHODS: Twenty-nine breast reconstruction patients and eight plastic surgery providers were recruited to complete surveys focused on surgical drains. Likert scales ranging from 1 to 5 were developed to gauge how bothersome drains felt, as well as concern for infection. Ordinal variable and categorical multiple-choice analyses were applied as appropriate. RESULTS: Fifteen (51.7%) patients underwent implant-based breast reconstruction, and 14 (48.3%) patients underwent autologous breast reconstruction. The most common duration of drain placement was 2 weeks (N = 13). The surgical site infection (SSI) rate requiring antibiotics was 28% (N = 8). On a scale of 1 to 5, both patients (median = 3) and providers (median = 2.5) viewed drains as bothersome. Patients were "frequently" concerned about infection risk (median = 3). Other high-frequency patient concerns included general pain and discomfort. CONCLUSION: Surgical drains are a common component of breast reconstruction procedures and are viewed as cumbersome by both patients and providers. Patients expressed concerns about drain site pain, discomfort, and tugging on clothing. Patients and providers both believed that drains could contribute to SSI. Overall, these data provide insight to drive future improvements in the patient drain experience.

Certified hand therapists membership in the American Society of Hand Therapists: A survey study.

STUDY DESIGN: Survey research. METHODS: A pilot tested survey was administered through an electronic mailing system to 5777 CHTs with email addresses on file at Hand Therapy Certification Commission. The survey was electronically distributed on two separate occasions to maximize the response rate. RESULTS: The response rate was 53% (n = 1271). The majority of the respondents who were not members of ASHT, 49% (441), indicated that member fees are too expensive, and 35% (311) respondents selected other as the reason. They specified that they were members in another country, the expenses were too high, or that they were retired. Ten percent (93) of respondents answered that they did not know what member benefits were offered, and 4% (40) responded that they do not value the member benefits offered. Finally, 2% (14) of participants answered that they do not value membership in any other professional organization. DISCUSSION: While ASHT membership cost is lower than the benefits the member receives, some do not believe that the costs outweighs the benefits. The combination of these factors accounts for approximately half of all CHTs choosing not to join ASHT. CONCLUSION: Many established members value their membership and find it beneficial not only for themselves but also for furthering the profession as well. Many CHTs identified cost as the most apparent factor for not joining ASHT.