Is #Gender Affirmation Surgery Trending? An Analysis of Plastic Surgery Residency Social Media Content.

PURPOSE

Given rising demand for gender affirmation surgery (GAS), lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and others' (LGBTQ+) patient care, and sexual and gender minority (SGM) representation in plastic surgery, we sought to analyze integrated residency programs' posts for LGBTQ+ content.

METHODS

Programs were identified from the American Council of Academic Plastic Surgeons website. Accounts were searched for on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Posts uploaded through June 24, 2021 were analyzed. Mann-Whitney - and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to compare content between programs.

RESULTS

Of 82 programs, 76 (92.7%), 31 (37.8%), and 30 (36.6%) have Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter accounts, respectively. Two hundred eighty-one (1.3%) posts displayed LGBTQ+ content, including educational (29.9%), research (17.4%), news (11.0%), resident interests (10.7%), pride/diversity (9.6%), posts to attract applicants/patients (7.5%), operative/clinic cases (6.8%), faculty spotlights (6.4%), and patient testimonials (1.1%). One hundred eighty-one (64.4%) posts described GAS overall, 42 (23.2%) described top, 32 (17.7%) described genital, and 32 (17.7%) described facial surgery. Instagram and Facebook have more LGBTQ+ content than Twitter (≤0.037). Newly accredited programs have significantly more LGBTQ+ content on Facebook (=0.036). Programs in the West, having more perceived prestige, or GAS fellowships tended to have more LGBTQ+ content.

CONCLUSION

Despite growing demand for GAS and thus training, 1% of content on plastic surgery residency social media accounts is LGBTQ+ related. Reasons for lack of representation require further investigation but may include (1) limited GAS and LGBTQ+ patient exposure during training or (2) lack of SGM inclusivity for residents, faculty, and patients.