Internet search by the patients undergoing hernia surgery about the disease and surgeon selection

To find out the current status of the internet use of patients who undergo surgery for repair of their hernias.

The patients who were diagnosed with abdominal wall hernia and scheduled for elective hernia repair were requested to answer a questionnaire. The questions were directed face-to-face by the surgeons themselves. The age, gender, education status, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status, place of living, health insurance, access to the Internet, surgical method, the person who did the search, previous hernia surgery, recurrence of previous hernia surgery, surgery other than hernia, and the hernia type were the recorded parameters at the first stage. Then, the answers for three main questions were taken: "Did you make a search about your hernia?", "Did you make a search about your surgeon?", "Would you prefer another surgeon if you could?"

A total of 200 patients were included in the study (146 male/54 female). 55.5% of the patients made an Internet search about their hernias. 58.5% of the patients made a search to find a proper surgeon. 12.5% of the patients stated that they would like to go to another surgeon for the hernia repair if it was possible. Internet search rate was significantly higher in younger patients in comparison with older patients. The higher the education level of the patients, the higher the rate of making Internet searches about the hernias and surgeons. Patients who live in the cities more frequently made Internet searches in comparison with those living in towns or villages. Internet searches about the hernias were similar in patients who had a history of hernia surgery (n = 23, 52%), and were even operated for recurrence of the same hernia (n = 30, 60%), compared to other patients (p = 0.569). Similarly, the rates of conducting surgeon research of the patients in these two groups (66.7%, 56.5%, respectively) were statistically similar (p = 0.450). The effect of ASA classification of patients on the Internet researches conducted about the disease and about the surgeons was not statistically significant (p = 0.799, p = 0.388, respectively). It was found that the rates of researching about the disease and about the surgeon on the Internet were significantly higher in patients who had undergone a minimally invasive surgery (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, respectively).

Less than two-thirds of the hernia patients make Internet search about their disease. Higher education level, younger age, patient's preference for minimally invasive surgery and living in a city positively affect Internet search rates.