Azzam Daniel B, Dai Yi Ling, North Victoria S, Callahan Alison B, Heher Katrinka L, Kapadia Mitesh K, Vagefi M Reza
Division of Oculofacial Plastic & Orbital Surgery, New England Eye Center, Tufts Medicine, Biewend Building 11th Fl., 260 Tremont St, Boston, MA, 02116, United States, 1 617-636-4600, 1 617-636-4866.
JMIR Infodemiology. 2025 Jun 2;5:e64639. doi: 10.2196/64639.
Global medical tourism for aesthetic surgery has become a popular phenomenon through ease of access in the digital era, though such services are not without potential risks. The application of infodemiology for global health surveillance may provide unique insights into unknown patient travel patterns and surgeon workforce dynamics abroad.
This study aimed to evaluate American cosmetic tourism trends in oculofacial plastic surgery, including demand profile and qualifications of the most sought-after international eyelid surgeons on social media.
This cross-sectional infodemiology study queried Google Trends to assess US interests in aesthetic eyelid surgery abroad in 25 destination countries from 2013 to 2023. The highest-rated content posted by 55 eyelid surgeons (US: n=11; international: n=44) on a social media platform (Instagram; Meta Platforms) was evaluated. The main outcomes included Google search volumes for aesthetic eyelid surgery for each destination country, as well as specialty training and professional medical society affiliations of popular eyelid surgeons on social media in each of these countries.
The top 5 destinations Americans sought for aesthetic eyelid surgery abroad were South Korea, Mexico, Canada, Turkey, and China. Interest in eyelid surgery abroad remained stable over the last decade despite 118% growth in blepharoplasty searches. Social media indicated eyelid surgeons abroad were more often general plastic surgeons than in the United States (30/44, 68% vs 2/11, 18%; P=.003). US surgeons more frequently completed oculofacial plastics, facial plastics, or aesthetic plastics fellowships compared with international surgeons (9/11, 82% vs 10/44, 23%; P<.001) and had membership in professional medical societies (11/11, 100% vs 22/44, 50%; P=.002).
American demand for international eyelid surgery remained stable over the past decade despite a 2-fold increase in the US interest for blepharoplasty. Digital epidemiology data reveal a shortage of international surgeons with specialized aesthetic eyelid fellowship training or professional society affiliations on social media among the preferred destinations for Americans seeking aesthetic eyelid surgery. These findings may provide beneficial insights for patients interested in traveling abroad for eyelid surgery, as well as for surgeons or academic societies seeking to increase social media presence or patient-directed educational content via social media engagement.
在数字时代，由于获取信息便捷，全球美容手术医疗旅游已成为一种流行现象，不过此类服务并非没有潜在风险。信息流行病学在全球健康监测中的应用可能为未知的患者出行模式和国外外科医生劳动力动态提供独特见解。
本研究旨在评估美国眼部整形手术的美容旅游趋势，包括需求概况以及社交媒体上最受欢迎的国际眼睑外科医生的资质。
这项横断面信息流行病学研究查询了谷歌趋势，以评估2013年至2023年美国对25个目的地国家的国外美容眼睑手术的兴趣。对55位眼睑外科医生（美国：11名；国际：44名）在一个社交媒体平台（照片墙；元平台）上发布的评分最高的内容进行了评估。主要结果包括每个目的地国家美容眼睑手术的谷歌搜索量，以及这些国家社交媒体上受欢迎的眼睑外科医生的专科培训和专业医学协会会员资格。
美国人在国外寻求美容眼睑手术的前5大目的地是韩国、墨西哥、加拿大、土耳其和中国。尽管眼睑成形术搜索量增长了118%，但过去十年对国外眼睑手术的兴趣保持稳定。社交媒体显示，国外眼睑外科医生中普通整形外科医生的比例高于美国（30/44，68%对2/11，18%；P = 0.003）。与国际外科医生相比，美国外科医生更常完成眼部整形、面部整形或美容整形 fellowship（9/11，82%对10/44, 23%；P < 0.001），并且是专业医学协会的成员（11/11，100%对22/44，50%；P = 0.002）。
尽管美国对眼睑成形术的兴趣增加了两倍，但过去十年美国对国际眼睑手术的需求保持稳定。数字流行病学数据显示，在寻求美容眼睑手术的美国人的首选目的地中，社交媒体上缺乏接受过专门美容眼睑 fellowship培训或有专业协会会员资格的国际外科医生。这些发现可能为有兴趣出国进行眼睑手术的患者，以及寻求通过社交媒体互动增加社交媒体影响力或患者导向教育内容的外科医生或学术协会提供有益的见解。
