Evaluating YouTube as a source of information on limb lengthening surgery: A quality and reliability analysis

This study aims to evaluate the content quality and reliability of YouTube videos on limb lengthening surgery.

On July 5^th, 2025, a YouTube search was performed using the keywords "limb lengthening surgery" and "leg lengthening surgery." The first 100 videos were reviewed; duplicates and those without English audio were excluded, resulting in 53 videos for analysis. Basic characteristics including views, upload time, duration, comments were recorded. Videos were categorized by source as "physician," "speaker," or "patient," and by theme as "general information" or "patient testimony." Video content quality, including accuracy, reliability, and comprehensibility of information, was assessed using the DISCERN, Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Benchmark Score, Global Quality Score (GQS), and a researcher-developed Limb Lengthening Scoring System (LLSS). Two orthopedic surgeons independently evaluated all videos.

The median view count of the 53 videos was 48,036 (range, 1,229 to 3,734,177), and the mean number of days since upload (as of July 5th, 2025) was 1,331 ± 735 days. The mean DISCERN was 24.4 ± 6.9, median JAMA 2 (range, 1 to 2), median GQS 1.5 (range, 1 to 3.5), and mean LLSS 1.1 ± 0.9. Physician-generated videos achieved significantly higher DISCERN and GQS scores (p = 0.031 and p = 0.040, respectively) than patient-generated videos. Speaker-generated videos had higher LLSS scores than patient-generated videos (p = 0.013). General information videos scored higher than patient testimonies for DISCERN (p = 0.035) and GQS (p = 0.025). Video duration and comment count positively correlated with LLSS (p < 0.001 and p = 0.047, respectively), whereas view counts and ratios showed no significant association with quality scores.

YouTube videos on limb lengthening surgery are usually of low quality, with limited scientific accuracy and educational value. Physician-produced videos receive higher scores; however, their overall quality still remains limited, while patient-generated content shows the lowest reliability. These findings highlight that inaccurate or incomplete online information may influence patient expectations prior to consultation and complicate shared decision-making. Greater involvement of orthopedic surgeons and academic institutions is needed to provide clear, evidence-based, and reliable online educational content to improve patient understanding and clinical communication.