Public Rates Plastic Surgeons As Best for Cutaneous Repair

AUSTIN, TEX. — The public does not appear to perceive that Mohs surgeons are as capable as plastic surgeons when it comes to removing cutaneous lesions and repairing facial defects, according to a survey of 467 patients.

Dr. Vinh Q. Chung of the department of dermatology at Emory University, Atlanta, said that he often has been asked what he called an "absurd" question by patients—whether they should see a plastic surgeon. To determine why they did not consider a Mohs surgeon to be capable, he and his colleagues conducted a prospective survey of 250 patients at the Emory Student Center and 217 at the Emory Dermatology Clinic.

In the first part, they were asked to rate seven questions about specialists' training and surgical skills on a visual analog scale. Survey respondents were asked to rate dermatologists, plastic surgeons, general surgeons, emergency physicians, and family practitioners.

When they were asked which specialist had the greatest ability to create absolutely no scar, 63% (136) of derm clinic patients and 64% (160) of students said that they had a high confidence in plastic surgeons; a little more than 20% of each group gave the same marks to dermatologists. The scores were significantly higher for plastic surgeons on every question, Dr. Chung said at the annual meeting of the American College of Mohs Surgery.

In the second part of the survey, patients were given a series of images of surgical scars. The images were all the same, but each was labeled with a specialty. The goal was to see if the label biased the patient's perception, he said.

Respondents were asked to rate the image on a scale of 1–10, with 10 being the highest score. Interestingly, scores were fairly consistent among all the images, with dermatologists and plastic surgeons ranking the highest. The dermatology clinic patients' mean score for plastic surgeons was 5.86, compared with 5.48 for the students. Derm clinic patients' mean score for dermatologists was 5.91, compared with 5.28 assigned by the students.

"Our study supports our suspicion that the public has more confidence in the brand 'plastic surgery' than the brand 'dermatology' when it comes to cutaneous surgeries," he said. This was especially surprising since it came from patients in the dermatology clinic. On the other hand, patients were able to be objective when they evaluated the scars.

Students should be required to spend at least a day in the operating room to see what Mohs surgery is, and dermatologic surgeons should continue to "promote our reputation as the experts for skin surgeries," he said.

AUSTIN, TEX. — The public does not appear to perceive that Mohs surgeons are as capable as plastic surgeons when it comes to removing cutaneous lesions and repairing facial defects, according to a survey of 467 patients.

Dr. Vinh Q. Chung of the department of dermatology at Emory University, Atlanta, said that he often has been asked what he called an "absurd" question by patients—whether they should see a plastic surgeon. To determine why they did not consider a Mohs surgeon to be capable, he and his colleagues conducted a prospective survey of 250 patients at the Emory Student Center and 217 at the Emory Dermatology Clinic.

In the first part, they were asked to rate seven questions about specialists' training and surgical skills on a visual analog scale. Survey respondents were asked to rate dermatologists, plastic surgeons, general surgeons, emergency physicians, and family practitioners.

When they were asked which specialist had the greatest ability to create absolutely no scar, 63% (136) of derm clinic patients and 64% (160) of students said that they had a high confidence in plastic surgeons; a little more than 20% of each group gave the same marks to dermatologists. The scores were significantly higher for plastic surgeons on every question, Dr. Chung said at the annual meeting of the American College of Mohs Surgery.

In the second part of the survey, patients were given a series of images of surgical scars. The images were all the same, but each was labeled with a specialty. The goal was to see if the label biased the patient's perception, he said.

Respondents were asked to rate the image on a scale of 1–10, with 10 being the highest score. Interestingly, scores were fairly consistent among all the images, with dermatologists and plastic surgeons ranking the highest. The dermatology clinic patients' mean score for plastic surgeons was 5.86, compared with 5.48 for the students. Derm clinic patients' mean score for dermatologists was 5.91, compared with 5.28 assigned by the students.

"Our study supports our suspicion that the public has more confidence in the brand 'plastic surgery' than the brand 'dermatology' when it comes to cutaneous surgeries," he said. This was especially surprising since it came from patients in the dermatology clinic. On the other hand, patients were able to be objective when they evaluated the scars.

Students should be required to spend at least a day in the operating room to see what Mohs surgery is, and dermatologic surgeons should continue to "promote our reputation as the experts for skin surgeries," he said.

AUSTIN, TEX. — The public does not appear to perceive that Mohs surgeons are as capable as plastic surgeons when it comes to removing cutaneous lesions and repairing facial defects, according to a survey of 467 patients.

Dr. Vinh Q. Chung of the department of dermatology at Emory University, Atlanta, said that he often has been asked what he called an "absurd" question by patients—whether they should see a plastic surgeon. To determine why they did not consider a Mohs surgeon to be capable, he and his colleagues conducted a prospective survey of 250 patients at the Emory Student Center and 217 at the Emory Dermatology Clinic.

In the first part, they were asked to rate seven questions about specialists' training and surgical skills on a visual analog scale. Survey respondents were asked to rate dermatologists, plastic surgeons, general surgeons, emergency physicians, and family practitioners.

When they were asked which specialist had the greatest ability to create absolutely no scar, 63% (136) of derm clinic patients and 64% (160) of students said that they had a high confidence in plastic surgeons; a little more than 20% of each group gave the same marks to dermatologists. The scores were significantly higher for plastic surgeons on every question, Dr. Chung said at the annual meeting of the American College of Mohs Surgery.

In the second part of the survey, patients were given a series of images of surgical scars. The images were all the same, but each was labeled with a specialty. The goal was to see if the label biased the patient's perception, he said.

Respondents were asked to rate the image on a scale of 1–10, with 10 being the highest score. Interestingly, scores were fairly consistent among all the images, with dermatologists and plastic surgeons ranking the highest. The dermatology clinic patients' mean score for plastic surgeons was 5.86, compared with 5.48 for the students. Derm clinic patients' mean score for dermatologists was 5.91, compared with 5.28 assigned by the students.

"Our study supports our suspicion that the public has more confidence in the brand 'plastic surgery' than the brand 'dermatology' when it comes to cutaneous surgeries," he said. This was especially surprising since it came from patients in the dermatology clinic. On the other hand, patients were able to be objective when they evaluated the scars.

Students should be required to spend at least a day in the operating room to see what Mohs surgery is, and dermatologic surgeons should continue to "promote our reputation as the experts for skin surgeries," he said.