Surgical Dressing Cosmesis in the Immediate Postoperative Setting: A Crowdsourcing-based Study.

Area of Science:

• Plastic Surgery
• Wound Care
• Patient Satisfaction

Background:

• Postoperative dressings are crucial for wound healing and infection prevention.
• Current dressing choices often overlook patient cosmetic preferences, focusing on cost, application, and availability.
• No significant differences in postoperative complications have been found between various dressing types.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate patient cosmetic preferences for different postoperative wound dressings.
• To determine the correlation between cosmetic appeal and early postoperative patient satisfaction.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study utilized an online crowdsourcing platform for data collection.
• Participants rated images of Steri-Strips, Dermabond PRINEO, gauze, surgical tape, and metal staples based on aesthetics, cleanliness, and compactness.
• Average cosmetic scores were calculated for each assessed wound dressing material.

Main Results:

• Steri-Strips and metal staples received the highest cosmetic ratings from participants.
• Gauze was rated highly for aesthetics and cleanliness but received lower overall scores due to bulk.
• Dermabond and surgical tape yielded the lowest and second-lowest cosmetic scores, respectively.

Conclusions:

• Patient cosmetic preference is a significant factor in selecting postoperative dressings, potentially enhancing satisfaction.
• Incorporating patient input in dressing selection can improve perceived autonomy and immediate postoperative satisfaction.
• Future research should address limitations in image standardization and explore long-term outcomes like scarring.