Outcomes research in facial plastic surgery: a review and new directions.
Outcomes research is a fast-growing field of study that focuses on patient-related aspects of medical or surgical outcomes such as satisfaction and quality of life. In the realm of facial plastic surgery, many outcomes are subjective evaluations based on the patient and physician's judgment as to the surgical result, but little has been done to quantify these qualitative results in an objective manner. This paper discusses the basis for outcomes research and suggests its application to the field of facial plastic surgery. Four new facial plastic outcomes instruments have been developed and are provided for the potential use in measuring the quality of life results of rhytidectomy, rhinoplasty, blepharoplasty, and skin rejuvenation procedures.
Alsarraf
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Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle 98195, USA.
D006801:Humans; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011788:Quality of Life; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures; D012225:Rhinoplasty; D015361:Rhytidoplasty; D013518:Surgery, Plastic