surgery2 optThe Face-Q allows surgeons to better assess the impact of facial aesthetic surgery, according to a presentation at The Aesthetic Meeting in San Francisco of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.

Currently, there is a push for validated, evidence-based patient-reported outcomes measures across specialties that can show that clinicians are improving the health and/or well-being of patients.

The questionnaire/survey tool was created by Andrea Pusic, MD, an associate professor at Cornell University, to help surgeons better understand the impact that facial aesthetic treatments can have on a patient’s quality of life. To date, more than 1,000 Face-Q questionnaires have been completed, and Face-Q is available to any surgeons who wish to use it.

James C. Grotting, MD, is a clinical professor of plastic surgery at The University of Alabama at Birmingham and The University of Wisconsin, Madison, and the founder of his private practice in Birmingham, Alabama. He presented data from 250 facelift patients regarding satisfaction, along with a study of nearly 50 of his patients who utilized the Face-Q survey. At 1 year after surgery, the patients were satisfied and their quality of life had improved.

“From using Dr Pusic’s tool, I have learned things about my own procedures that I would not necessarily have noticed otherwise. I have learned things about my patients, including their social function and how they feel in relationships with friends and family – all of which are tied into their surgical outcomes,” Grotting says in a news release.