Quality of life of Brazilian plastic surgeons
Qualidade de vida dos cirurgiões plásticos brasileiros

With great attention and enthusiasm, we read the article “Quality of life of Brazilian plastic surgeons” by Alves et al.¹, published in issue 38(2) of the Revista Brasileira de Cirurgia Plástica. We congratulate the authors for the initiative and description of the topic of quality of life for plastic surgeons in Brazil.

The first study on the quality of life of plastic surgeons in Brazil was published in 2018² in the journal Plastic Surgery Global Open, cited in the article’s references. Initially, observational studies that use questionnaires present the challenge of adhering to participants when filling them out, even when electronic means are used. In the study carried out in 2018, 115 surgeons from a population of 163 responded to the questionnaire (70% adherence), while in this recent study of a population of 7079 surgeons in Brazil, 168 responses were obtained (2.4% adherence), not making it possible to reach the initial number established by the statistical method of 365 responses. Such results demonstrate the difficulty of achieving considerable numbers of responses to questionnaires to obtain an adequate representation of an original population.

Both surveys used a sociodemographic questionnaire and the WHOQOL-bref³ instrument. Some similarities are evident in relation to demographics⁴ of studies in similar populations, such as majority male, married, with up to two children, majority of members who responded are specialists, with a working day of 10 to 60 hours, majority work in surgery of an aesthetic nature and around a third of these earn more than 40 thousand reais per month.

In the study by Alves et al.¹, there are innovations reported with the influence of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the use of advertising in digital media. The pandemic, without a doubt, caused mental and emotional changes in the entire Brazilian medical population, and there was an increase in the search for advertising and digital marketing. We believe that these numbers must be even higher, given that in the population presented in this study, a large proportion had been practicing medicine for over 20 years, and we know that digital marketing is extremely active and adaptable in younger populations.

When comparing the groups studied in relation to the domains of the WHOQOL-bref instrument, in the 2018 study, the main domains were the physical and psychological, whereas in the recent study, published with the influence of the pandemic, the most affected domains were the psychological and social relations, here highlighting the impact of the reduction in work and interactions caused by the lockdown period. These changes may be directly related to the influence of the pandemic on the quality of life of Brazilian plastic surgeons.

Studies like this should be encouraged, as they allow to show the reality of the plastic surgeon in our country and bring a reflection on the need to develop topics on quality of life and progression of these professionals in regional events and in events in our society in order to expand the vision of our colleagues so that they can make assertive decisions about improving the quality of life.

REFERENCES

1. Alves GFF, Sobreira SM, Coni AD, Oyharçabal CM, Luz TST, Ferreira MYS, et al. Quality of life of Brazilian plastic surgeons. Rev Bras Cir Plást. 2023;38(2):1-14.

2. de Arruda FC, de Paula PR, Porto CC. Quality of Life of the Plastic Surgeon in the Midwest of Brazil. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. 2018;6(8):e1802. DOI: 10.1097/GOX.0000000000001802

3. Arruda FCF, Paula PR, Porto CC. Profile of plastic surgeons in the state of Goias, Brazil. Rev Bras Cir Plást. 2016;31(2):246-51.

4. Fleck MPA, Louzada S, Xavier M, Chachamovich E, Vieira G, Santos L, et al. Aplicação da versão em português do instrumento abreviado de avaliação da qualidade de vida WHOQOL-BREF. Rev Saúde Pública. 2000;34(2):178-83.

1. Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, GO, Brazil
2. Hospital Estadual de Urgências Governador Otávio Lage de Siqueira, Goiânia, GO, Brazil

Corresponding author: Fabiano Calixto Fortes de Arruda Rua T 50, 723, Setor Bueno, Goiânia, GO, Brazil, Zip Code: 74215-200, E-mail: dr.fabianoarruda@gmail.com

Article received: July 13, 2023.
Article accepted: August 11, 2023.

Conflicts of interest: none.