A Comparison of Patient-reported and Measured Height and Weight in Patients Seeking Plastic Surgery
Background:. Patients seek plastic surgery consultations for various reasons. Patients may have an unrealistic view of possible surgical outcome which may start with inaccurate self-perception. Understanding patient self-perception may improve preoperative counseling and expectation-setting. Methods...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wolters Kluwer
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Global Open |
| Online Access: | http://journals.lww.com/prsgo/fulltext/10.1097/GOX.0000000000006943 |
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| Summary: | Background:. Patients seek plastic surgery consultations for various reasons. Patients may have an unrealistic view of possible surgical outcome which may start with inaccurate self-perception. Understanding patient self-perception may improve preoperative counseling and expectation-setting.
Methods:. After institutional review board approval, the electronic medical record data warehouse was queried for patients who saw an Emory plastic surgeon in 2020–2022 and had completed a previsit questionnaire reporting weight and height. Values were compared with those measured (MS) at the same visit. A retrospective chart review was performed capturing demographic data and visit information. REDCap was used to store data securely. Stata BE17 was used for statistical analysis. Paired t tests with equal variances were used for mean comparison.
Results:. A total of 355 patients were identified; 217 patients met inclusion criteria. The mean difference between patient-reported (PR) weight and MS weight was 2.9 kg. There was a statistically significant difference between PR weight and MS weight in all visit types (P < 0.001); 83.2% of patients underestimated their weight. PR and MS height did not differ significantly. Patients with MS body mass index greater than 30 underestimated their weight more profoundly than patients with MS body mass index less than 30 (P = 0.02).
Conclusions:. Patients seeking plastic surgery consultations may underreport their weight; patients typically report height accurately. Plastic surgeons should be aware of this potential discrepancy when determining appropriateness for surgery. More research is needed to understand why specific cohorts of patients may underreport weight and how this might impact long-term outcomes and patient satisfaction. |
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| ISSN: | 2169-7574 |