ABSTRACT
Background The internet has become an increasingly popular tool for patients to find information pertaining to medical procedures. Although the information is easily accessible, data shows that many online educational materials pertaining to surgical subspecialties are far above the average reading level in the United States. The aim of this study was to evaluate the English and Spanish online materials for the deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap reconstruction procedure. Methods The first eight institutional or organizational websites that provided information on the DIEP procedure in English and Spanish were included. Each website was evaluated using the Patient Education and Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT), Cultural Sensitivity Assessment Tool (CSAT), and either Simplified Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG) for English websites or Spanish Orthographic Length (SOL) for Spanish websites. Results The English websites had a statistically lower CSAT score compared to the Spanish websites (p=0.006). However, Spanish websites had a statistically higher percentage of complex words compared to English sources (p<0.001). An analysis of reading grade levels through SMOG and SOL scores revealed that Spanish websites had statistically lower scores (p<0.001). There were no statistically significant differences in the understandability or actionability scores between the English and Spanish websites. Conclusions Online educational materials on the DIEP flap reconstruction procedure should be readable, understandable, actionable, and culturally sensitive. Our analysis revealed that improvements can be made in understandability and actionability on these websites. Plastic surgeons should be aware of what constitutes a great online educational resource and what online educational materials their patients will have access to.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Mohs micrographic surgery is a specialized tissue-sparing technique used to treat skin cancers. OBJECTIVE: By understanding the attributes that make a research paper one of the top 100 cited papers on Mohs surgery, we hope to illuminate seminal research in this field. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The global literature about Mohs surgery published between 1900 and 2023 was searched on the Web of Science. Publication data for all results meeting the search criteria were exported and analyzed. RESULTS: In total, 4,961 publications with 81,405 citations were identified. Dermatologic Surgery was the most cited journal, with 1,073 publications. Papers from the top 100 most cited that were published in the year 2000 or prior had an average of 22.1 citations in the first five years after publication, whereas papers published after 2001 had an average of 56.0 citations in the first five years. CONCLUSION: Analysis of the most cited papers on Mohs surgery demonstrates the influential role of the Dermatological Surgery journal in advancing the field. Noteworthy studies addressing cost, safety, and efficacy have received substantial citations, reflecting their significance within the literature. A trend toward more citation in the first five years after publication over time was identified.