Role of Video Education for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Patients

This research was conducted at Washington University School of Medicine and presented at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons Annual Meeting. The study evaluated whether professionally developed patient education videos could improve patient understanding, satisfaction, and confidence before plastic and reconstructive surgery.

Patient education is an essential part of surgical care, yet many patients struggle to fully understand their procedures and experience anxiety before surgery. Researchers evaluated whether professionally developed educational videos could improve patient understanding, satisfaction, and confidence before plastic surgery procedures.

The study included two components. An initial survey of 39 participants examined the relationship between health literacy and satisfaction with preoperative education. Researchers also evaluated 6 patients undergoing preoperative education at their institution using Understand.com educational videos covering procedures including abdominoplasty, breast augmentation, mastopexy, and lower facelift.

The results demonstrated a strong relationship between health literacy and patient satisfaction with preoperative education (R = .74, p = 6.8 × 10−8). The initial study group had a mean health literacy score of 66.3/100 and a mean preoperative education satisfaction score of 78.3/100. Among patients who viewed the educational videos, the mean health literacy score was 94.3/100, and mean satisfaction with surgical education increased to 85.6/100.

Following the educational videos, 100% of patients reported improved understanding of their upcoming procedure, while 3 of 6 patients (50%) reported reduced anxiety before surgery. Additionally, 100% of participants indicated the videos were beneficial and said they would recommend them to other patients.

The researchers concluded that video-based patient education can improve patient understanding, increase satisfaction with preoperative education, and help reduce anxiety before surgery. The findings suggest that educational videos can benefit patients across a wide range of health literacy levels while improving the overall patient experience.

Study Authors

  • Joseph Ribaudo, Presenter
  • Trina Ebersole, MD
  • Amy Liao
  • Jonah Orr, MD
  • Justin Sacks, MD, MBA
  • Marissa Tenenbaum, MD