Cosmetic Surgery Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Cosmetic Surgery, including details on microsurgery, reconstruction, techniques, risks.

Standardized Terminology for Aesthetic Ophthalmic Plastic Surgery.

Lee S, Tsirbas A, Goldberg RA, McCann JD

*David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California, †Jules Stein Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A., and ‡Center for Facial Appearance, Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.A.

PURPOSE:: To determine whether existing Systemized Nomenclature of Medicine (SNOMED) terminology adequately describes aesthetic concepts commonly encountered in the oculoplastic and facial plastic surgery setting. METHODS:: This was a noncomparative case series. A panel of three oculoplastic surgeons compiled a list of unique concepts describing specialized aesthetic terminology commonly encountered in the oculoplastic and facial plastic surgery setting, with a specific focus on anatomic structures and descriptive findings. A standard electronic browser was used to manually search for the existence of equivalent matching concepts in SNOMED. A quality of match score from 1 to 3 was used with values of (1) no match, (2) partial match, and (3) equivalent match. RESULTS:: An assessment of the existing aesthetic terminology revealed that a majority of concepts were not represented. Of 62 total concepts, 68% had no match, 13% had a partial match, and 19% had a complete match. CONCLUSIONS:: SNOMED coverage of aesthetic terminology was less than in previous studies examining content representation for other medical topics. Such findings underscore a need for further development and refinement of aesthetic content.

Published 20 September 2006 in Ophthal Plast Reconstr Surg, 22(5): 371-374.
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