BDD Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Among Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons Worldwide

The French poet, Voltaire, said ‘if you were to ask a peacock where his soul were situated, he would say “In the tip of my magnificent tail.” [1].

Abstract

Background

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a controversial topic in the field of plastic surgery.

Objective

Our aim was to determine whether BDD knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) are affected by the experience of the surgeon in the field, sex of the surgeon, country of practice, and the number of patients the surgeon sees annually. We were particularly interested in uncovering any significant relations in KAP of BDD between plastic surgeons practicing in developed versus develo** countries.

Methods

We created a two-page survey of 24 questions about the KAP of BDD. The survey was sent to aesthetic plastic surgeons worldwide via ISAPS global email list. The data were collected over a period of 20 days at the end of 2020.

Results

A total of 464 plastic surgeons completed the survey. The only factor that determines the awareness of BDD is the experience of the surgeon. The more experienced the surgeon is, the more likely he/she is to be familiar with the clinical picture of BDD. Although aware, the more experienced surgeons tend to dismiss the importance of referring BDD patients to psychiatrists/psychologists. Male surgeons tend to diagnose more patients with BDD than female surgeons. Surgeons who estimated the correct prevalence of BDD among patients seeking surgery acquired knowledge of BDD from scientific journals. The KAP is relatively similar between surgeons practicing in developed and develo** countries, and the main statistically significant difference was in the questions used during the course of the interviews to diagnose BDD.

Conclusion

We can deduce from the results that most aesthetic surgeons worldwide have got knowledge of the presentation of BDD and are keen to diagnose the disorder in their practice. It is worth noting that surgeons usually have their unique approach in the management of BDD. Our study highlights the importance of not only raising awareness of the best management of BDD, but also of establishing a consensus that BDD is a contraindication to aesthetic treatment. The best methods to raise awareness are through journals and plastic surgery residency.

Level of Evidence V

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