Patient Preference for a Clinical Chaperone in Breast and Body Cosmetic Surgery

Abstract

Introduction: The use of a clinical chaperone in clinically intimate examinations has always been recommended. This study investigates patients' views on the use of a clinical chaperone in breast and body cosmetic surgery. Materials and Methods: One hundred two female patients who underwent breast and body cosmetic procedures were offered the questionnaire, and all patients responded to the Web-based blog questionnaire as to their preference for a clinical chaperone during their clinic experience on 3 different occasions. These occasions comprised the initial cosmetic surgery consultations, preoperative markings, and postoperative visits. All patients involved in this study were treated by male clinicians, except 1 patient who had a female clinician. Results: t-test P-value significance was achieved at .05; the effect size was .4 (medium conventional effect size, in which responses were due to noise interference, where a small effect size is approximately .2), and the observed power was noted to be .835 where the responses collected reflected the population. A total of 33.3% ( n = 34) of the patients indicated preferring a clinical chaperone be present on all 3 occasions. A total of 31.4% ( n = 32) indicated they would prefer not to have a clinical chaperone present on these occasions. However, 11.8% ( n = 12) had no preference as to whether a clinical chaperone was present on all 3 occasions. The remainder of the patients had mixed opinions on 1 or more of these occasions. Conclusions: Variable views on the use of a clinical chaperone among cosmetic surgery patients reflect the importance of the surgeon's judgment and discretion in dealing with the individual patient. In addition, offering the presence of a clinical chaperone allows patients to decide which is the optimal environment for them at a given time. Informing patients in advance regarding the components of the examination also helps to ease patients' anxiety.