Beyond Skin Deep: Patient Insights Into Cosmetic Procedures and Their Risks in Madinah, Saudi Arabia.

Background The demand for cosmetic procedures has increased significantly due to their positive effects on self-satisfaction. However, individuals often underestimate the potential complications associated with these procedures, driven by a strong desire for transformation. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the Madinah community's awareness of cosmetic procedures and plastic surgery, as well as to assess the risks, complications, and clinical outcomes associated with these procedures. Materials and methods A non-probability consecutive sampling method was employed to select study participants, including every patient who met the inclusion criteria until the target sample size was reached, between March and June 2023. An intervener-based questionnaire survey was conducted to assess participant's understanding of the severity and associated risks of cosmetic procedures and plastic surgery. The minimum required sample size was determined to be 82 using OpenEpi version 3 software. Data were analyzed using t-tests, chi-square tests, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) as appropriate. Results The study included 82 participants, with 48.80% aged between 18 and 30 years and only 3.7% of them were male. The majority were of Saudi nationality (86.60%). While most participants (82.9%) were aware of cosmetic procedures and their risks, 28% lacked knowledge about potential complications, highlighting a notable knowledge gap. Some of the participants reported underlying health conditions such as obesity (8.5%), diabetes (3.7%), asthma (3.7%), and hypertension (2.4%), along with family histories of hereditary diseases (37.8%) and allergies (15.9%). The most common complications were facial swelling (63.41%), bruising (51.22%), rashes (30.49%), and subcutaneous blood pooling (19.51%). Less frequent complications included infections (15.85%) and reduced facial expressions (9.76%). Conclusion The study revealed that most participants demonstrated an overall awareness of the potential complications associated with cosmetic procedures. The commonly recognized complications of cosmetic facial procedures included swelling, bruising, rash, subcutaneous blood pooling, and infection. However, no specific factors related to the planning of facelift procedures were identified.
Competing Interests: Human subjects: Consent for treatment and open access publication was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Approval was obtained from Al-Rayan National College of Medicine, Medical Research Ethics Review Board, Al Rayan Medical Colleges issued approval HA-03-M-122-039. Institutional review board approval was granted by the Research Ethics Review Board at Al Rayan Medical Colleges (Approval No. HA-03-M-122-039). Written consent was obtained from all participants, all of whom were over 18 years old. Data were collected through an online questionnaire available in both English and Arabic. Validation was based on a previously conducted study (Sorensen CP, Urman C: Cosmetic complications: rare and serious events following botulinum toxin and soft tissue filler administration. J Drugs Dermatol. 2015, 14:486-91). Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.
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