title: Needs assessment for cosmetic dermatologic surgery.
abstract: Cosmetic procedures have been an integral part of dermatologic surgery for over half a century, with a more recent proliferation of devices to improve skin color and texture and modify subcutaneous fat. Overall, cosmetic dermatologic procedures are extremely safe. However, detailed information about safety and effectiveness, and especially comparative effectiveness, is not available for many procedures. There are few randomized control trials of comparative effectiveness of different procedures for similar indications. Key comparative effectiveness studies are briefly reviewed, and areas of substantial deficiency in such research are highlighted.
authors: Department of Dermatology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA. m-alam@northwestern.edu
authors: Murad
authors: M
authors: Alam
authors: Jonathan M
authors: JM
authors: Olson
authors: Maryam M
authors: MM
authors: Asgari
mesh_terms: D003880:Dermatology; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D020380:Needs Assessment; D015595:Skin Aging; D013518:Surgery, Plastic; D014481:United States