Clinical photography and video recordings in plastic surgery: Patient autonomy and informed consent in an era of smartphone technology and social media in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Clinical photographs and video recordings in plastic surgery are indispensable in clinical practice, training, and research. Historically, clinical photography and video recordings were confined to the stringent control of the medical illustration units of hospitals. However, the evolution of social media platforms and smartphone technology has facilitated the rapid exchange of images with a virtual audience of potentially limitless size. The risk to patients is that more people have access to their images, which may be used in ways not authorized or anticipated. We reviewed current literature including original and review articles obtained through a search of PubMed database, Medline, Google Scholar, and the bibliographies of published articles, which was by hand searching, using the following keywords: clinical photography, video recordings, social media, smartphone, consent, autonomy, and plastic surgery. This review fills an important gap in the plastic surgery literature by providing ethical guidelines in clinical photography and video recordings.