title: Telemedicine and Plastic Surgery: A Pilot Study.
abstract: Background. Telemedicine can be defined as the use of electronic media for transmission of information and medical data from one site to another. The objective of this study is to demonstrate an experience of telemedicine in plastic surgery. Methods. 32 plastic surgeons received a link with password for real-time streaming of a surgery. At the end of the procedure, the surgeons attending the procedure by the Internet answered five questions. The results were analyzed with descriptive statistics. Results. 27 plastic surgeons attended the online procedure in real-time. 96.3% considered the access to the website as good or excellent and 3.7% considered it bad. 14.8% reported that the transmission was bad and 85.2% considered the quality of transmission as good or excellent. 96.3% classified the live broadcasting as a good or excellent learning experience and 3.7% considered it a bad experience. 92.6% reported feeling able to perform this surgery after watching the demo and 7.4% did not feel able. 100% of participants said they would like to participate in other surgical demonstrations over the Internet. Conclusion. We conclude that the use of telemedicine can provide more access to education and medical research, for plastic surgeons looking for medical education from distant regions.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Medicine and Health Sciences, PUCRS School of Medicine (FAMED), Avenida Ipiranga 6681, 90619-900 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Denis Souto
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Valente
authors.affiliation: Mae de Deus Health System, Rua Soledade 569, 90470-340 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luciano
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Silveira Eifler
authors.affiliation: Mae de Deus Health System, Rua Soledade 569, 90470-340 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Lauro Aita
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Carvalho
authors.affiliation: Mae de Deus Health System, Rua Soledade 569, 90470-340 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Gustavo Azambuja Pereira
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Filho
authors.affiliation: Mae de Deus Health System, Rua Soledade 569, 90470-340 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Vinicius Weissheimer
authors.initials: VW
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Medicine and Health Sciences, PUCRS School of Medicine (FAMED), Avenida Ipiranga 6681, 90619-900 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Alexandre Vontobel
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Padoin