INTRODUCTION
Instagram has become one of the primary means by which the public access information, societal trends, and entertainment content. One particular trend, posting content about minimally invasive cosmetic procedures, specifically laser surgery, is frequently highlighted on social media in the form of before-and-after photos, procedural videos, educational posts, and office advertisements.1 While this content can be helpful in terms of patient education as well as advertising value for the clinic, social media posts are not standardized and carry a high risk of misinformation.1 Additionally, given the increased technological savviness of our patient population, social media has become a useful platform to disseminate educational tools and knowledge about various dermatologic procedures, including laser surgery. Thus, it is important for dermatologists to understand how various procedures are portrayed on social media.
The goals of this study were to 1) determine how skin laser surgery is discussed on Instagram, 2) determine the credentials of those posting content about laser surgery, and 3) determine if laser surgery is accurately portrayed.
The goals of this study were to 1) determine how skin laser surgery is discussed on Instagram, 2) determine the credentials of those posting content about laser surgery, and 3) determine if laser surgery is accurately portrayed.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
On April 7, 2022, a single Instagram search using the term #lasersurgery was performed. All English-language posts within the "Instagram Top Post" section were included. Duplicate posts and those that did not show or discuss laser surgery (eg, those that discussed skin cancer excisions, unrelated procedures, and skin cancer education posts) were excluded. Data was collected on author demographics and post details, along with the number of views/likes and the date posted.
RESULTS
The hashtag #lasersurgery had 26,691 total posts on Instagram. The top 50 posts that met the inclusion criteria were included in analysis. When applicable, posts had an average of 270 likes (range: 103-678). The number of likes were hidden in 2 posts and another 2 posts were graded on number of views instead of number of likes and these averaged a total of 6010 views. The top posts were uploaded an average of 420 days prior to our query. All posts (50/50, 100%) were created by physicians in a doctor's office setting (48/50, 96%) versus a MedSpa (2/50, 4%), and in line with practice trends. Dermatology was the most frequently cited specialty (40/50, 80%), followed by oculoplastic
