Measuring the Impact of Surgical and Non-surgical Facial Cosmetic Interventions Using FACE-Q Aesthetic Module Scales: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Background: The FACE-Q Aesthetic module measures patient-important outcomes following surgical and non-surgical facial cosmetic procedures. Objective: The primary aim of this systematic review was to summarize the pre- to post-intervention mean differences of facial aesthetic interventions that evaluate outcomes using the FACE-Q Face Overall, Psychological, and Social scales. Methods: Ovid Medline, Embase, Cochrane, and Web of Science databases were searched on December 20, 2022 with the assistance of a health-research librarian (CRD42023404238). Studies that examined any surgical or non-surgical facial aesthetic intervention in adult patients and used FACE-Q Aesthetics Face Overall, Psychological, and/or Social scales to measure participants before and after treatment were included for analysis. Results: Of 914 potential articles screened, 35 studies met the inclusion criteria. Most studies evaluated surgical (n = 22, 62.9%) versus non-surgical facial cosmetic interventions (n = 13, 37.1%). Rhinoplasty [37.0 points, 95% CI 24.7-49.3, P < 0.01] demonstrated the largest weighted increase in Face Overall scores, whereas the largest increase in Psychological [67.1 points, 95% CI 62.9–71.3, P < 0.01] and Social [63.9 points, 95% CI 53.2–74.6, P < 0.01] scores was demonstrated by a single study evaluating surgical forehead lifts, respectively. Conclusions: This meta-analysis leverages FACE-Q Aesthetic module scoring to present the expected mean differences in Face Overall, Psychological, and Social scale scores for various surgical and non-surgical facial cosmetic interventions. The findings from this review may be used to indirectly compare interventions and contribute to sample size calculations when planning future studies.