Objective We compared patient satisfaction with scarring after facial laceration repair in the emergency department (ED) based on the specialty of the provider.
Methods Patients with facial lacerations admitted to the ED from 2009 to 2013 were divided into two groups. One group of patients underwent repair by an emergency physician (EP) and the other by a plastic surgeon (PS). From August 2014 to September 2014, we randomly selected 10% of all patients and assessed their degree of satisfaction with scarring over the phone using a 5-point Likert scale.
Results The male to female ratio was 2.81 in the EP group and 2.05 in PS (P<0.001). The proportion of those aged 0 to 9 years among all the patients was higher in the PS group than in the EP group (50.8% vs. 30.1%, respectively, P<0.001). The duration of ED stay was 107.8±84.6 minutes in the EP group and 225.9 ± 161.8 minutes in the PS group (P<0.001). Among these patients, 228 responded to a telephone survey. A poor satisfaction score of 1 to 2 was more common in female or young patients who underwent repair by an EP (P<0.05). However, the overall satisfaction among all respondents did not differ between the two groups.
Conclusion Although female patients and the guardians of young children who underwent simple facial laceration repair by a PS were more satisfied than those treated by an EP, the satisfaction of the entire group of patients did not differ according to the treatment provider.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Emergent Facial Laceration Repair Variations Between Plastic Surgery, Otolaryngology, Ophthalmology, Emergency Medicine, and Oral Maxillofacial Surgery Holly Gates, Gemma Toogood, Devra Becker Journal of Craniofacial Surgery.2026; 37(3/4): 435. CrossRef
Using the endoscopic snare to facilitate two-port laparoscopic appendectomy Mohamed Farid, Azza Baz, Mohamed Riad, Ashraf Abdelmonem Elsayed, Ahmed Salah Arafa, Rasha S. Elsayed, Alaaedin Ramadan, Ibrahim A. Heggy, Mostafa M. Elaidy Surgical Endoscopy.2025; 39(6): 3814. CrossRef
Comparison of characteristics and injury patterns between minor and adult patients seeking emergency cosmetic suture for facial lacerations: data from a tertiary plastic surgery hospital in Beijing, China Ziyuan Chen, Xiaoyue Mao, Huaizheng Wu, Yakun Shi, Chao Nian Frontiers in Public Health.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Cosmetic outcomes of simple facial laceration suturing in the pediatric emergency department Eyal Reiss, Yoav Gronovich, Eyal Heiman, Elad Sela, Giora Weiser Pediatric Emergency Medicine Journal.2024; 11(2): 65. CrossRef
Surgical Specialty Consultation for Pediatric Facial Laceration Repair Andrew F. Miller, Jason A. Levy, Todd W. Lyons Pediatric Emergency Care.2024; 40(8): e120. CrossRef
RETRACTED: Evaluating the impact of recombinant human epidermal growth factor on scar formation in oral and maxillofacial traumatic wound healing Bin Zhu, Guoyong Tong, Peiyi Gao, Mengxiong Yan International Wound Journal.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Evaluation of Facial Trauma Scars After Treating by Refining Plastic Surgery Techniques: A Follow-Up Study Yibing Wu, Zuguang Hua, Yang Xiang, Shengqian Zhu, Weiwei Chen, Peng Wei Journal of Craniofacial Surgery.2023; 34(4): e376. CrossRef
Predictors of Caregiver Satisfaction With Pediatric Laceration Repair in the Pediatric Emergency Department Soyun Hwang, Jin Hee Lee, Young Ho Kwak, Do Kyun Kim, Jin Hee Jung, Jae Yun Jung, Hyuksool Kwon, Dongbum Suh, Yoo Jin Choi, Se Uk Lee, Joong Wan Park Pediatric Emergency Care.2023; 39(5): 324. CrossRef
Therapeutic downregulation of neuronal PAS domain 2 (Npas2) promotes surgical skin wound healing Yoichiro Shibuya, Akishige Hokugo, Hiroko Okawa, Takeru Kondo, Daniel Khalil, Lixin Wang, Yvonne Roca, Adam Clements, Hodaka Sasaki, Ella Berry, Ichiro Nishimura, Reza Jarrahy eLife.2022;[Epub] CrossRef
A Quality Improvement Initiative to Increase the Number of Pediatric Resident Laceration Repairs Tracey L. Wagner, Michael W. Dunn, Maya S. Iyer, Don Buckingham, Sandra P. Spencer Journal of Graduate Medical Education.2020; 12(1): 51. CrossRef
Comparison of cosmetic appearances after facial lacerations repaired by junior residents and experts Jin Hong Min, Yeon Ho You, Yong Chul Cho, Won Joon Jeong, Jung Soo Park, Se Kwang Oh, Sung Uk Cho, Yong Nam In, Chi Hwan Kwack, In Sool Yoo The American Journal of Emergency Medicine.2019; 37(5): 817. CrossRef
Updates in emergency department laceration management Karalynn Otterness, Adam J Singer Clinical and Experimental Emergency Medicine.2019; 6(2): 97. CrossRef
Pre-emptive ice cube cryotherapy for reducing pain from local anaesthetic injections for simple lacerations: a randomised controlled trial JaeWoo Song, HyukHoon Kim, EunJung Park, Jung Hwan Ahn, Eunhui Yoon, Samsun Lampotang, Nikolaus Gravenstein, SangChun Choi Emergency Medicine Journal.2018; 35(2): 103. CrossRef
Early Complications Following Facial Laceration Repair Performed by Emergency Physicians After One Year of Wound Closure Training Ryo Yamamoto, Koichiro Homma, Yuya Masuzawa, Chikako Shimizu, Toshio Ogata, Shingo Hori, Junichi Sasaki, Teresa Man‐Yee Chan AEM Education and Training.2018; 2(4): 259. CrossRef
Factors associated with satisfaction with pediatric emergency department services in Korea: analysis of Korea Health Panel Data 2010 to 2012 Kyeong Jae Lee, Min Joung Kim, Joon Min Park, Kyung Hwan Kim, Junseok Park, Dong Wun Shin, Hoon Kim, Woochan Jeon, Hyunjong Kim Clinical and Experimental Emergency Medicine.2018; 5(3): 156. CrossRef
Consultation for Simple Laceration Repair When On-Call in the Emergency Department: Potential Quagmire Ross I.S. Zbar, Edward Monico, Arthur Calise Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery - Global Open.2017; 5(7): e1428. CrossRef
First
Prev
