title: Public perception of the field of plastic surgery.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study aims to assess the public's understanding of the scope of the practice of plastic surgeons, to determine if there is a need to increase awareness of the nature of a plastic surgeon's work.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was performed. Participants were systematically selected from the White Pages for a telephone survey. The participants' demographics were recorded. Participants were excluded if they or anyone they knew had prior interactions with a plastic surgeon. Participants selected the most common area of specialization of plastic surgeons. The final set of questions determined their choice of surgeon in three different scenarios: breast reduction, excision of skin cancer from the facial region and hand trauma.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two hundred and thirteen of the 257 participants were eligible to complete the survey. Sixty-five per cent were female, with 38% between the ages of 46 and 65 years. The dominant field of practice was reconstructive surgery (36%). Just 19% of participants would consult plastic surgeons across the three clinical scenarios. Dermatologists (47%) were chosen over plastic surgeons (24%) to excise skin cancers from the face. Breast surgeons (53%) were chosen over plastic surgeons (23%) to perform breast reduction surgery. In hand trauma, 58% of participants would consult a hand surgeon and merely 10% would consult with plastic surgeons.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The general public's understanding of plastic surgery is poor. This may be linked to the misunderstanding of specialist titles and lack of education regarding this field.
authors.affiliation: Surgical HMO, Alfred Health, The Alfred Hospital, Prahran, VIC 3181, Australia. patwinder.gill@gmail.com
authors.forename: Patwinder
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gill
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bruscino-Raiola
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leung
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D013038:Specialization / Q000592:standards*; D013043:Specialties, Surgical; D013518:Surgery, Plastic / Q000592:standards*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult