Patient Education on Scarring Following Mohs Micrographic Surgery: Patient Preference for Information Delivery

There are multiple modalities for patient education ranging from written to audiovisual formats. However, little is known regarding which modality is optimal.

To assess patient preference for educational materials about scar care following surgery for facial skin cancer using the FACE-Q Skin Cancer patient reported outcome measure.

On the day of Mohs surgery, patients were given a written handout or viewed a 3-minute animation video regarding best practices in scar improvement. Afterward, patients received the FACE-Q Skin Cancer-Satisfaction with Information: Appearance scale. Three months later, patients were called and given the same scale and additional questions regarding scar care.

A total of 75 patients were enrolled. There was no difference between the 2 groups' preoperative information scores (p = .85) and the three-month postoperative scores (p = .37). The change in preoperative and postoperative score showed no significant difference between the 2 groups (p = .21); but there was a trend of higher satisfaction in the video group on the day of Mohs surgery. After the 3-month timepoint, there was a higher satisfaction trend observed with the written handout group.

Patient preferences in information delivery and accessibility will contribute to greater information retention and satisfaction.