title: Satisfaction with facial laceration repair by provider specialty in the emergency department.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We compared patient satisfaction with scarring after facial laceration repair in the emergency department (ED) based on the specialty of the provider.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients with facial lacerations admitted to the ED from 2009 to 2013 were divided into two groups. One group of patients underwent repair by an emergency physician (EP) and the other by a plastic surgeon (PS). From August 2014 to September 2014, we randomly selected 10% of all patients and assessed their degree of satisfaction with scarring over the phone using a 5-point Likert scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The male to female ratio was 2.81 in the EP group and 2.05 in PS (P<0.001). The proportion of those aged 0 to 9 years among all the patients was higher in the PS group than in the EP group (50.8% vs. 30.1%, respectively, P<0.001). The duration of ED stay was 107.8±84.6 minutes in the EP group and 225.9 ± 161.8 minutes in the PS group (P<0.001). Among these patients, 228 responded to a telephone survey. A poor satisfaction score of 1 to 2 was more common in female or young patients who underwent repair by an EP (P<0.05). However, the overall satisfaction among all respondents did not differ between the two groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although female patients and the guardians of young children who underwent simple facial laceration repair by a PS were more satisfied than those treated by an EP, the satisfaction of the entire group of patients did not differ according to the treatment provider.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sang-Jae
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Young-Duck
authors.initials: YD
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sung-Jun
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jung-Youn
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Young-Hoon
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sung-Hyuk
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Choi
keywords: Emergency service, hospital; Facial laceration; Personal satisfaction