Abstract
BACKGROUND: Patients often get information on the Brazilian butt lift (BBL) through social media. It is not known how well social media informs patients of the risks associated with the BBL procedure. The objective of this study was to analyze social media content about BBL. METHODS: Instagram was queried using seven relevant hashtags twice in one month. The first 50 relevant posts for each hashtag in the "Top" search category were analyzed for author qualifications, social media engagement, and content, including types of photographs, references to research, educational information, and discussion of safety risks. RESULTS: A total of 587 posts, with a total of 458,659 "likes" and 9,230 comments, were included in the analysis. The majority (79.0%) of authors were physicians or physician groups. Of 128 unique physicians, 63.0% were board-certified plastic surgeons. Most posts (73.0%) showed postoperative results, and 39.0% were overt advertisements. While 29.0% of posts included some educational information, only 12.0% mentioned risks and only 3.0% referenced research. Board-certified plastic surgeons contributed 57.0% of the educational posts. Only 33.0% of the posts mentioned risk. Board-certified plastic surgeons were more likely to produce content related to research, but were less likely to discuss safety risks than non-board-certified physicians. CONCLUSIONS: Most BBL-related content on Instagram does not provide educational information to patients or promote understanding of the risks of the procedure. Board-certified plastic surgeons should consider using social media to disseminate information on the risks and indications of BBL and other popular cosmetic procedures. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE IV: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .