The following is a summary of “Evaluating Public Perceptions of Cosmetic Procedures in the Medical Spa and Physician’s Office Settings: A Large-scale Survey,” published in the July 2023 issue of the Dermatologic Surgery by Gibson et al.
The medical retreat and cosmetic procedure markets have expanded significantly in recent years. Medical spas’ dearth of consistent medical oversight raises safety concerns. This study aims to determine how the public perceives medical resorts versus physician’s offices as locations for cosmetic procedures, emphasizing safety. On an online platform, 1,108 individuals were asked about their perceptions of the safety of cosmetic procedures at medical resorts and physician’s offices.
Respondents were categorized based on their prior experiences. At the 0.05 level, statistically significant differences between groups were determined using Chi-squared and analysis of variance models. Respondents who had only undergone cosmetic procedures in a physician’s office or who had never undergone a cosmetic procedure cared more about being treated by a physician (P<.001) and rated safety as more important (P =.03).
The total rate of complications was numerically greater at medical resorts than at physician’s offices (P =.41). Medical spas had higher complication rates for minimally invasive skin tightening (0.77 vs. 0.0, P<.001) and noninvasive fat reduction (0.80 vs. 0.36, P =.04). The public was concerned about the safety of cosmetic procedures performed at medical clinics, and specific procedures exhibited higher complication rates in this setting.
