When choosing a plastic surgeon, patients value experience and personal recommendation

Study uses market research to assess patient preferences

December 30, 2013
American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS)

What do patients look for when choosing a surgeon to perform their facelift, nose job or other cosmetic plastic surgery procedure? Surgeon experience and a personal recommendation from a doctor or friend are the most influential factors, reports a study in the January issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

The new research identifies the plastic surgeon's level of experience as the single most important factor affecting patient preferences. "It seems that the greater the experience the more confident patients are for a better result," wrote Dr. Nick Marsidi, Maurice van den Bergh and Dr. Roland Luijendijk of Bergman Clinics, Bilthoven, the Netherlands.

What factors affect patients' choice of a plastic surgeon?

Dr. Marsidi and colleagues assessed factors affecting choice of surgeons in a group of 150 Dutch patients expressing an interest in cosmetic plastic surgery. Patients were presented with 18 different scenarios in order to rank their preferences in terms of cost, travel time, surgeon experience, clinic size, method of referral and online (website) presentation.

In response to the scenarios, patients rated surgeon experience as the most influential attribute, with an importance of about 36%. In other words, patients based their choice of plastic surgery practice 36% on the length of the surgeon's experience. Surgeons with at least 10 years of experience were preferred over less-experienced surgeons.

Method of referral was the next-strongest factor, with an importance of 21.5%. "The most preferred method of referral is by the general practitioner, followed by referral by a friend or family member," according to the authors. In contrast, referrals by TV, radio, magazine and internet forums had a negative effect - patients were less likely to select a practice referred in this way.

Travel time had an importance of 14%, with patients preferring travel times of less than 1 hour. The cost of the procedure had an importance of 13%. Cost preferences are highly influenced by socioeconomic levels, but patients remain price-sensitive.

Although patients preferred a more-extensive online presentation, this factor had an overall importance of less than about 9%. Clinic size was the least important attribute, just 6%, with local clinics preferred over nationwide clinics.

Plastic surgeons in private cosmetic surgery practice need to be proactive in developing their marketing strategy, Dr. Marsidi and colleagues believe. The number of patients undergoing cosmetic plastic surgery dipped sharply after the economic recession of 2008, although figures are rising again. In this fluctuating market, knowledge of consumer preferences is an important factor for developing a solid competitive strategy.

Based on their findings, Dr. Marsidi and coauthors write, "[T]he most preferred clinic would be with a specialist that has over 10 years of experience, is recommended by the general practitioner, costs 15% less than average, with a travel time between 0 and 30 min, is a local clinic and has an extensive online presentation." Thus, surgeons might be better served by cultivating good relationships with primary care doctors, rather than advertising on television or other media.

The researchers acknowledge some limitations of the technique used in the study, including the limited number of scenarios explored. Other factors may be important in other areas - for example, all plastic surgeons in the Netherlands are board-certified, which is not necessarily the case in the United States and other countries.