Knowledge and perceptions of facial plastic surgery among a selected group of professionals in Lagos, Nigeria

SummaryThis was a questionnaire-based study among a selected group of professionals in Lagos, Nigeria to assess their knowledge, attitude and perceptions to facial plastic surgery. A well-structured questionnaire was administered to a group of professionals in the banking industry and the civil service. The respondents were asked if they had heard of ‘facial plastic surgery’ before and if they were familiar with some selected facial plastic surgery procedures. They were also asked if they had ever considered undergoing facial plastic surgery for any real/perceived facial abnormalities; if they knew any close relatives/friends who had undergone facial plastic surgery and if they considered the result satisfactory or not. A total of 130 respondents participated in the study; of these, 102 (78.5%) respondents had some knowledge of ‘facial plastic surgery’ while 28 (21.5%) respondents had no prior knowledge of facial plastic surgery. Fifty-five of the 102 respondents had some knowledge of liposuction of the face and neck. Nineteen of the 130 respondents expressed willingness to undergo facial plastic surgery for removal of facial wrinkles and excess fat on the cheeks and neck. Only 17 (13%) of the respondents had ever thought of undergoing facial plastic surgery; of these 17 respondents, nine claimed that their facial appearance was the main reason. Respondents with perceived facial abnormalities were more likely to undergo plastic surgery than those without perceived abnormalities (P = 0.000). Twenty-four (18.5%) of the 130 respondents knew of a friend/close relative who had undergone facial plastic surgery before, and the majority (19 of the 24) considered the result of the surgery satisfactory. We conclude that most of the study participants had some knowledge of facial plastic surgery; however, only a few expressed willingness to undergo facial plastic surgery for removal of facial wrinkles and folds/fat on the cheeks and neck. The fact that only a few of the respondents knew someone who had undergone facial surgery may reflect the low level of availability of facial plastic surgery procedures in Nigeria.