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genders meet.16 Indeed, other studies have confirmed that women spend more time with patients,6,18,19,23,24 engage in a partnership-building style,28 show more concern and empathy,6,18,24-28 ask more about patients’ emotions, and facilitate patient participation in a dialogue by speaking positively, smiling, and nodding.24-28 These qualities are shown to matter more to female patients than to males.24- 28 The exception to these findings is in the field of obstetrics and gynecology, in which men were found in one study to spend more time with patients and to engage in more dialogue.29 Communication style is not patients’ only consideration; those who prefer men feel male physicians are more technically competent.30 Given the variation of patients’ gender preferences for their physicians in other medical fields, it would be difficult to predict patients’ gender preferences for plastic surgeons without an investigation. The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of a plastic surgeon’s gender on patient choice. METHODS A prospective study was conducted in a single private practice of two plastic surgeons, one male and one female. Both plastic surgeons trained during the same time at the same institution, obtained board certification the same year, performed the same types of procedures, had similar reputations, and had similar online reviews and content. As a married couple, neither mentioned surgeon gender in a promotional way in marketing materials, and their marriage was mentioned only within the body of their individual website biographies. Two female patient coordinators fielded calls from 200 consecutive prospective new patients requesting a consultation. The study began July 24, 2015 and was ended on February 2, 2016, when the study target of 200 calls was reached. Neither patient coordinator was assigned to a specific doctor, so calls were distributed according to which doctor had the soonest available appointment time. If the caller didn’t request a specific doctor by name, the patient coordinator asked the caller if she preferred a male or a female doctor, then documented each caller’s gender preference, age, and area(s) of interest, categorized as breast, body, face, and/or genital. Institutional review board (IRB) approval was not sought, as this was a non-clinical, non-experimental, marketing survey study, and the Helsinki Doctrine on Human Experimentation was not violated. Data are presented as frequency and means with standard deviations. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Software, Version 24. The data were analyzed using binomial and t tests. Significance was determined by a P value of < 0.001). Fifty-four patients (27%) requested a specific surgeon, of which 29 (14.5%) specifically requested FLC, the male surgeon, and 25 (12.5%) specifically requested HJF, the female surgeon. This difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.683). Figure 1. Distribution of surgeon gender preference among 200 inquiring patients. Of 200 patients, 52 requested a female doctor (blue), 2 requested a male doctor (red), 92 had no preference (green), and 54 requested a specific surgeon, with 25 requesting the female surgeon by name (purple), and 29 requesting the male surgeon by name (orange). 468 Aesthetic Surgery Journal 37(4) Patients’ Surgeon Gender Preference and Anatomic Area of Concern When asked about the anatomic area of concern, 180 expressed an interest in a single area, and 20 expressed an interest in two. Of all patients, 131 patients (65.5%) had an interest in breast, 41 (20.5%) had an interest in body, 29 (14.5%) had an interest in face, and 19 (9.5%) had an interest in genital surgery (Figure 2). Preference for Female Doctor and Anatomic Area of Concern Of the 52 patients who requested a female doctor, 32 (61.54%) had an interest in breast, 7 (13.46%) had an interest in body, 7 (13.46%) had an interest in face, and 10 (19.23%) had an interest in genital surgery (Figure 3). Preference for Male Doctor and Anatomic Area of Concern Of the two patients who requested a male doctor, both (100%) had an interest in breast surgery. No Gender Preference and Anatomic Area of Concern Of the 92 patients with no gender preference, 58 (63.04%) had an interest in breast, 28 (30.43%) had an interest in body, 13 (14.13%) had an interest in face, and 6 (6.52%) had an interest in genital surgery. Request for the Female Surgeon, and Anatomic Area of Concern Of the 25 patients (12.5% of all) who specifically requested HJF, the female surgeon, 17 (65.38%) were interested in breast, 2 (7.69%) were interested in body, 4 were (15.38%) were interested in face, and 3 (11.54%) were interested in genital surgery. Request for the Male Surgeon, and Anatomic Area of Concern Of the 29 patients (14.5% of all patients) who specifically requested FLC, the male surgeon, 22 (68.75%) were interested in breast, 5 (15.63%) were interested in body, 5 were (15.63%) interested in face, and none were interested in genital surgery. Patient Age and Surgeon Gender Preference Age differences between those patients with male and female surgeon preferences were not significant (P = 0.724), nor were age differences between those requesting FLC, the male surgeon, compared with those requesting HJF, the female surgeon (P = 0.292). DISCUSSION As insurance reimbursements have declined, the

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