Knowledge and Attitude of Medical Students toward Plastic Surgery

Abstract

Introduction Inadequate professional and medical exposure and misconceptions about plastic surgery have not only been linked to students’ poor knowledge and attitude toward it, but also bias against the selection of plastic surgery as a specialty. This assertion is yet to be tested and confirmed in our setting. This study therefore aimed to determine the knowledge and attitude of medical students toward plastic surgery.

Methods One hundred and eight (108) students between their 3rd and 4th year of study were randomly recruited and handed structured questionnaires on knowledge and attitude toward plastic surgery. Data were then analyzed using SPSS and represented in percentages, medians, and means. Mann-Whitney and Kruskal–Wallis tests were done to assess for significant statistical differences based on gender grouping and year of study, respectively. A p-value ≤ 0.05 was considered significant at a 95% confidence interval.

Results Majority of the students had some awareness about plastic surgery since, a majority (88%) identified plastic surgery with cosmetics and identified trauma as the main condition handled by plastic surgeons. Sixty-four percent (64%) acknowledged the risks associated with plastic surgery and 79.6% noted the presence of the procedures in Kenya. When assessing attitude, 62% reported that they did not want to pursue plastic surgery in the future, 75% would not consider plastic surgery done on them and 77% of the respondents felt embarrassed to undergo the surgery if their family knew while another 77% felt embarrassed if their friends knew. It is worth noting that 55% had their initial exposure to plastic surgery through information from the media sources. Mann-Whitney test done to assess for gender differences only revealed significant difference (p-value = 0.009) on assessing for the availability of plastic surgery procedures in Kenya. Kruskal–Wallis test did not reveal any significant differences based on year of study.

Conclusion Data from our study suggest that students have some awareness about plastic surgery but have a poor attitude toward it.

Keywords

plastic surgery - cosmetics - medical students

Publication History

Article published online:
20 August 2020

• References

• 1 Panse N, Panse S, Kulkarni P, Dhongde R, Sahasrabudhe P. Awareness and perception of plastic surgery among healthcare professionals in Pune, India: do they really know what we do?. Plast Surg Int 2012; 2012: 962169
• 2 Conyard C, Schaefer N, Williams D, Beem H, McDougall J. The understanding of plastic and reconstructive surgery amongst Queensland medical students. JPRAS Open 2016; 8: 14-18
• 3 Akpuaka FC. Stretching Plastic Surgery to the Horizon in Africa. Inaugural Lecture Series 3. Uturu: Abia State University; 1999
• 4 Adigun IA, Oluwatosin OM. Knowledge of the scope of plastic and reconstructive surgery by surgical specialists at Ibadan and Ilorin, Nigeria. Niger J Med 2003; 12 (02) 91-93
• 5 Pawan A. Perception of plastic surgery in the society. Indian J Plast Surg 2004; 37 (02) 110-114
• 6 Chukwuanukw TO. Plastic surgery in Nigeria: scope and challenges. Niger J Surg 2011; 17: 68-72
• 7 Isiguzo CM, Nwachukwu CD. Knowledge and perception of plastic surgery among tertiary education students in Enugu, South-East Nigeria. Niger J Clin Pract 2016; 19 (03) 327-331
• 8 Fayi KA, Al-Sharif MN, Alobaidi AA, Alqarni MA, Alghamdi MH, Alqahatani BA. Male medical students’ perception of plastic surgery and its relationship with their cultural factors. J Family Med Prim Care 2018; 7 (06) 1482-1487
• 9 Mortada HH, Alqahtani YA, Seraj HZ, Albishi WK, Aljaaly HA. Perception of plastic surgery and the role of media among medical students: cross-sectional study. Interact J Med Res 2019; 8 (02) e12999
• 10 Fraser SJ, Al Youha S, Rasmussen PJ, Williams JG. Medical student perception of plastic surgery and the impact of mainstream media. Plast Surg (Oakv) 2017; 25 (01) 48-53
• 11 Charan J, Biswas T. How to calculate sample size for different study designs in medical research?. Indian J Psychol Med 2013; 35 (02) 121-126
• 12 Almeland SK, Guttormsen AB, de Weerd L, Nordgaard HB, Freccero C, Hansson E. Plastic surgery in the Norwegian undergraduate medical curriculum: students’ knowledge and attitudes. A nationwide case-control study. J Plast Surg Hand Surg 2017; 51 (02) 136-142
• 13 Kumar V, Singh AK, Faisal A, Nandini R. Awareness among medical fraternity regarding the role of plastic surgeon. Indian J Plast Surg 2011; 44 (03) 494-497
• 14 Adeyemo WL, Mofikoya BO, Bamgbose BO. Knowledge and perceptions of facial plastic surgery among a selected group of professionals in Lagos, Nigeria. J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg 2010; 63 (04) 578-582
• 15 Bodenham DC. Training of plastic surgeons. Br J Plast Surg 1970; 23 (02) 97-99
• 16 Romm S, Goldwyn RM. Plastic surgeon in the writer’s eye. Plast Reconstr Surg 1987; 80 (03) 455-460
• 17 Palcheff-Wiemer M, Concannon MJ, Conn VS, Puckett CL. The impact of the media on women with breast implants. Plast Reconstr Surg 1993; 92 (05) 779-785
• 18 Furnham A, Levitas J. Factors that motivate people to undergo cosmetic surgery. Can J Plast Surg 2012; 20 (04) e47-e50