Application of Integrative Medicine in Plastic Surgery: A Real-World Data Study

Area of Science:

• Integrative Medicine
• Plastic Surgery
• Complementary Therapies

Background:

• Growing global interest in integrative medicine.
• Integration of evidence-based complementary therapies with conventional medicine.
• Application in plastic surgery to enhance patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• Systematically analyze the application and use of non-pharmacological interventions (NPIs).
• Investigate patient acceptance of NPIs in a German plastic surgery department.
• Identify factors associated with NPI acceptance.

Main Methods:

• Real-world data from the Network Oncology registry (2016-2021).
• Inclusion of adult patients undergoing plastic surgery.
• Multivariable logistic regression to analyze NPI acceptance predictors.

Main Results:

• 265 patients analyzed, median age 65 years.
• 90.19% of patients underwent reconstructive surgery.
• 42.5% of patients accepted and used NPIs, primarily physiotherapy, embrocations, and compresses.

Conclusions:

• Exploratory overview of NPIs in German plastic surgery integrative care.
• NPIs show good acceptance among a subset of patients.
• Further studies needed to evaluate NPI impact on clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction.