#PlasticSurgery.

Area of Science:

• Plastic Surgery
• Social Media Engagement
• Medical Communication

Background:

• Growing public demand for evidence-based health information.
• Limited understanding of plastic surgeons' social media presence.
• Need to explore social media platforms for patient education.

Purpose of the Study:

• Examine Twitter posts related to plastic surgery.
• Assess the utilization of the #PlasticSurgery hashtag.
• Inform plastic surgeons on effective social media use for education.

Main Methods:

• Prospective analysis of 2880 tweets containing "plastic surgery".
• Evaluated author identity, hashtag usage, subject matter, and post type (promotional vs. educational).
• Assessed the inclusion of links to scientific studies.

Main Results:

• Public dominates social media discussion (70.6%) compared to plastic surgeons (6.0%).
• The #PlasticSurgery hashtag appeared in 5.4% of tweets, with surgeons using it in nearly half of those instances.
• Surgeons' posts focused on aesthetic surgery (61.3%), basic science, patient safety, and reconstruction; 37.0% were self-promotional.

Conclusions:

• Social media offers a valuable channel for plastic surgeons to educate and engage.
• Board-certified plastic surgeons can leverage #PlasticSurgery to promote evidence-based practices.
• Opportunity exists to support patients and the plastic surgery profession through strategic social media engagement.