The Dysmorphic Concern Questionnaire: Is It Possible to Predict a Satisfactory Result After Cosmetic Eyelid Surgery?

As oculofacial surgeons performing esthetic surgery, the most valuable result is a satisfied patient. It can be extremely frustrating to have an unhappy patient with, what we believe is, a satisfactory result. Therefore, the ability to predict satisfaction is of extreme importance. We studied our cosmetic eyelid surgery patients to try to find factors that can predict satisfaction.

We retrospectively studied 454 consecutive patients, who underwent any combination of 7 cosmetic surgical procedures. Patients answered the Dysmorphic Concern Questionnaire (DCQ) before surgery. We studied age, gender, type and number of procedures performed, DCQ score, presence of complications, and history of previous fillers. At the 3-month follow-up visit, patients were given an outcome report survey to graduate their surgical results on a scale from 1 to 5. Results were evaluated using a model of binary logistic regression in which the outcome variable was divided into 2 groups.

Three hundred eighty-six patients (85%) were female and the median age was 54.8 years old. The median for the number of procedures was 2 (range, 1-5). Two hundred two of the 454 patients (44.5%) had a history of fillers. Twenty-five patients had complications. DCQ score was significantly lower in the satisfied group (median score, 3) versus the unsatisfied group (median, 6), p = 0.007. In the multiple binary logistical model, the variables age, male gender, DCQ, presence of complications, and upper eyelid blepharoplasty resulted as significant.

We found a significant positive association with upper lid blepharoplasty and a negative association with increasing age, male gender, occurrence of complications, and DCQ score, as predictors of patient satisfaction. We routinely administer the DCQ to all cosmetic patients: It is a brief, sensitive, and specific screening instrument for body dysmorphic disorder.