Overview
The authors tested four previously published questionnaires that measure patient-reported results of facelift, rhinoplasty, eyelid surgery and skin rejuvenation. 78 patients at 3 similar private cosmetic surgery centers, having 100 procedures in total, were followed. Patients filled in the questionnaires twice before surgery and once after.
Findings
- Prospective pilot study; 78 patients; 3 private cosmetic surgery centers; 100 procedures.
- Instruments tested: Facelift Outcomes Evaluation, Rhinoplasty Outcomes Evaluation, Blepharoplasty Outcomes Evaluation, Skin Rejuvenation Outcomes Evaluation.
- Test-retest reliability: 0.74 to 0.83 (Pearson correlation).
- Internal consistency: 0.83 to 0.88 (Cronbach alpha).
- Responsiveness to change: statistically significant for each instrument (P ≤ .001).
- Patients had significant quality-of-life improvement.
- Overall satisfaction rose on average from 37% to more than 84% after the procedures.
- The authors recommend the questionnaires for future prospective studies.
What it means for a patient
- A short questionnaire can measure how satisfied you are with a facelift, before and after, in numbers.
- In this study, satisfaction across all four procedure types rose from 37% to more than 84% on average.
- The abstract does not give facelift results separately from the other procedures.
- This is a pilot study with 78 patients at private centers. Results may differ in other settings.
Why this paper matters
It tested the Facelift Outcomes Evaluation and three related questionnaires and found them reliable, consistent and responsive to change. The authors state the tools let surgeons measure otherwise subjective outcomes in numbers. Cited 227 times (NIH iCite, 2026-09-25).
Terms
- Outcomes instrument: a standard questionnaire used to measure results of treatment.
- Test-retest reliability: whether a questionnaire gives the same result when repeated with no change in the patient.
- Internal consistency: whether the questions in a questionnaire agree with each other.
- Cronbach alpha: a number from 0 to 1 for internal consistency; higher is more consistent.
- Pearson correlation coefficient: a number showing how closely two sets of scores match.
- Responsiveness to change: whether a questionnaire detects real change after treatment.
- Prospective study: a study that follows patients forward in time.
- Pilot study: a small first study to test methods before a larger one.