[Presentation of plastic surgery on the internet: experiences with the home page of a department]

Plastic surgeons are increasingly taking advantage of information opportunities offered by the internet. Between October 1998 and March 1999, 87 individuals returned by e-mail a feed-back form included in the homepage of the Division of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Karl-Franzens University School of Medicine, Graz, Austria. Most of the responses originated from Austria or other European countries; 10% were from overseas. The most frequent reason for visiting our homepage was to gain information on scientific activities in our department (43 visitors), followed by interest in plastic surgical procedures on the part of patients or referring physicians (35 visitors). Other reasons were interest in educational matters, positions, and general interest in plastic surgery. Our results show that physicians, medical students, and laypersons are increasingly inclined to seek information on plastic surgery via the internet. This in turn should encourage plastic surgery services to present themselves in the World Wide Web.