Ethical Innovations in Plastic Surgery Survey Q1. Age
Under 35
35 - 44
45 - 54
55 - 64
65 and over Q2. Sex
Male
Female
Q3. For how long have you been a practicing plastic surgeon? (not including residency & fellowship)
0 to 5 yrs
6 to 10 yrs
11 to 20 yrs
21 to 30
> 30 years
Q4. Time in clinical practice
<25%
26-50%
51-75%
76-100%
Q5. Area of practice
Rural
Suburban (2)
Small city (3)
Large city (4)
Q6. Main geographical area of practice
North America (1)
South America (2)
Europe (3)
Asia (4)
Africa (5)
Australia (6)
Q7. Main geographical area of practice (only if in US)
Northeast
South
Midwest
West
Q8. % of practice (must add up to 100) ______ Reconstructive
______ Aesthetic
Q9. In considering new innovations in practice, what is your biggest source of information?
Peers
Professional meetings & conferences
Journals
Media
Q10. Familiarity with proposed guidelines in the literature on ethics of using new surgical technique
Not familiar
Somewhat familiar
Familiar
Very familiar
Q11. Innovative surgery is defined as any of the following that is developed and tested for the first time: • a novel procedure • a significant modification of a standard technique • a new application or indication of established technique • an established technique with another therapeutic modality
How important are the following factors when performing innovative surgery on a patient for mainly
RECONSTRUCTIVE indications (i.e. new technique for mandibular reconstruction after condyletomy, for cleft lip & palate repair, for breast reconstruction after mastectomy, etc?
1 Not important
2 Somewhat
important
3 Important
4 Very important
5 Extremely
important
Potential benefit to patient
Change in self-image of patient
Change in functional outcome of patient
Post-op complications
Obtaining advanced consent
Patient compliance
Surgeon’s experience & expertise with similar
technique
Surgeon’s ability to provide patients with clear info
about risks & benefits
Availability of alternative approaches
Level of variation from current standard of care
Current availability of evidence in literature regarding
new surgery
Institutional availability to manage complications
Change in quality of care for similar patients
Obtaining IRB approval
Economic implications of new innovative surgery
Malpractice litigation
Q12. In general, how important do you believe it is to publish about surgical innovation used mainly for RECONSTRUCTIVE purposes?
Not important
Somewhat important
Important
Very important
Extremely important
Q13. How important are the following factors when considering performing innovative surgery on a patient for mainly AESTHETIC indications (i.e. new technique for breast augmentation, rhytidectomy etc)?
1 Not important
2 Somewhat
important
3 Important
4 Very important
5 Extremely
important
Potential benefit to patient
Change in self-image of patient
Change in functional outcome of patient
Post-op complications
Obtaining advanced consent
Patient compliance
Surgeon’s experience & expertise with similar
technique
Surgeon’s ability to provide patients with clear info
about risks & benefits
Availability of alternative approaches
Level of variation from current standard of care
Current availability of evidence in literature
regarding new surgery
Institutional availability to manage complications
Change in quality of care for similar patients
Obtaining IRB approval
Economic implications of new innovative surgery
Malpractice litigation
Q14. In general, how important do you believe it is to publish about surgical innovation used mainly for AESTHETIC purposes?
Not important
Somewhat important
Important
Very important
Extremely important
Q15. Please rank from most important to least important the following factors when considering performing innovative plastic surgery (1 = most important, 7 = least important):
______ Potential benefit to current patient
______ Change in self-image of the patient as a result of surgery ______ Change in functional outcome of patient as result of surgery ______ Effect on post-operative complications
______ Change in quality of care for future patients
______ Current availability of evidence in the literature regarding this innovative surgery ______ Personal level of knowledge about risks & benefits
Q16. Are there any other factors that you would consider when deciding to perform innovative surgery for either reconstructive or aesthetic purposes? __________________
Q17. Describe one of your recent experiences with innovation in plastic surgery (reconstructive or aesthetic).
