Perception and Knowledge of Facial Plastic Surgery Among Health Care Professionals at Tertiary Care Center, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: Cross Sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Plastic surgery is a medical specialty involving the restoration, reconstruction, or alteration of the body. Knowledge about facial plastic surgery among doctors is limited according to some literatures and enriched according to others, depending on the country and study population. Aim: Aim of the study was to evaluate level of knowledge of health care professionals regarding facial plastic surgery. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study included total of 261 health care professionals (consultants, specialists and residents in training) at King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital (KAUH) from all subspecialties during July 2018. The data collected using pre-designed questionnaire and analyzed using professional statistics software. Results: Among 261 participants, sex distribution shows a male-female ratio of 2.78:1. The majority (62.8%) of participants were residents. Mean age (± SD) of participants was 32.28 ± 8.43. Pediatrics, internal medicine, and general surgery were the most common specialties. Among participants, 75.5% agreed that taking training in plastic surgery program is a requirement to be a facial plastic surgeon whether it should be accompanied with at least one other surgery training (23%) or more than one other training (22.2%). The majority (97.7%) have never undergone a facial plastic surgery operation and 78.2% were not willing to undergo one. Conclusion: The study concludes that the knowledge and perception among healthcare professionals in KAUH regarding facial plastic surgeries is on relatively good basis but needs more updates and trainings.