Measuring cosmetic facial plastic surgery outcomes: a pilot study

To test 4 previously published outcomes instruments (the Facelift Outcomes Evaluation, the Rhinoplasty Outcomes Evaluation, the Blepharoplasty Outcomes Evaluation, and the Skin Rejuvenation Outcomes Evaluation) in terms of their reliability and validity in assessing patient-related outcomes of surgical intervention.

A prospective pilot study of 78 patients in 3 similar private cosmetic surgery centers undergoing a total of 100 face-lift, rhinoplasty, blepharoplasty, and skin rejuvenation procedures. Patients were evaluated at 2 preoperative and 1 postoperative time points and the instruments were analyzed with regard to their test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and responsiveness to change.

All 4 outcomes instruments had excellent reliability, consistency, and validity scores. Test-retest reliability was 0.74 to 0.83 (Pearson correlation coefficients), internal consistency scores were.83 to.88 (Cronbach alpha), and responsiveness to change was statistically significant for each instrument tested (P< or =.001). In addition, patients experienced significant quality of life improvement, with overall satisfaction increasing on average from 37% to more than 84% after these procedures.

These 4 instruments are reliable and valid and can be used to accurately assess patient-related satisfaction in studies of face-lift, rhinoplasty, blepharoplasty, and skin resurfacing outcomes. These brief questionnaires provide the cosmetic surgeon with quantitative tools to evaluate otherwise subjective and purely qualitative outcomes and are recommended for use in future prospective studies.