Plastic Surgery or Facial Plastic Surgery: Can the Public Tell the Difference?

Background: Social media and online advertising are increasingly used by plastic surgeons (PSs) to educate patients and obtain referrals, but it remains unclear whether the general public can distinguish the difference in training and accreditation among medical professionals advertising online. Our study elucidates the public’s expectations regarding the distinction between plastic surgery and facial plastic surgery. Methods: A survey was distributed via MTurk, an Amazon surveying service, to collect information about demographics and assumptions that would be made solely based on the terminology “facial PS” (FPS) and “PS.” Participants were restricted to those residing in the United States. Results: A total of 253 responses were collected. Based on the term FPS, respondents on average moderately to strongly agreed that they would expect an FPS to have completed a plastic and reconstructive surgery residency program (mean = 1.81; scale from 1= strongly agree to 5= strongly disagree) and would feel moderately to strongly misled if they visited an FPS for a consultati