Growing Taller without Hormones? Dr. Consult Google—An Evaluation of Online Information Related to Limb Lengthening

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the reliability, content and readability of the information available on the Internet related to limb lengthening surgeries, which have recently been progressively in fashion. Methods: The three most commonly used browsers on the Internet were determined and a search term for “Limb Lengthening Surgery” was typed for each browser. The websites were categorized by their type, and the content and the quality of them was evaluated using the DISCERN score, the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark and the Global Quality Score (GQS). The Flesch Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and the Flesch Reading Ease Score (FKRS) were used to evaluate the readability. Each website also assessed the presence (or absence) of the Health on Net (HON) code. Results: The academic category was found to be significantly higher than the medical and commercial categories. Mean FKGL and FCRS scores, DISCERN score values, JAMA, GQS and LLCS score values of Websites with HON code were significantly higher than those without. Conclusions: The quality of online information related to limb lengthening was of low quality. Although some websites, especially academic resources, were of higher quality, the readability of their content is just about 2.5 degrees higher than the sixth-grade reading level.