Does Surgeon Gender Matter for Aesthetic Patients?

Area of Science:

• Plastic Surgery
• Cosmetic Surgery
• Patient Preferences

Background:

• Patient expectations for plastic surgery practices are established.
• However, specific patient preferences regarding plastic surgeon gender are not well-defined.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate gender preference in plastic surgeon selection among elective cosmetic plastic surgery patients.
• To analyze surgeon preference based on online inquiry data.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of online inquiries for cosmetic plastic surgery and non-surgical treatments.
• Data collected from a single private practice in Houston, TX, over one year (June 2019-June 2020).
• Analysis of surgeon preference based on surgeon gender, patient gender, and procedure type.

Main Results:

• 873 online inquiries were analyzed; 97.9% were from female patients.
• Female patients showed a preference for female surgeons (55.7%) over male surgeons (16.1%), with 28.2% having no preference.
• Procedure type influenced preference: female surgeons preferred for breast procedures, male surgeons for injectables and facial procedures; no gender preference for body procedures.

Conclusions:

• Female plastic surgery patients' surgeon gender preference is influenced by the specific procedure.
• A female surgeon is preferred for breast-related surgeries, while a male surgeon is preferred for facial and injectable treatments.
• Patient gender preference in plastic surgery is procedure-dependent.