Results
The survey was distributed to 136 patients in the otolaryngology clinic
waiting room. 102 patients (response rate 75%) completed the survey. Of
these survey respondents, 50% were male and 10% Spanish-speaking. 51%
presented for otologic complaints; other represented subspecialties
included head & neck surgery, facial plastic surgery, and rhinology.
See Table 1 for participant demographic information. Ear surgery
outcomes of high value to patients included hearing (mean 9.3 on a
10-point scale from 0 [not important] to 10 [very important],
standard deviation 1.9), staff friendliness (8.9, 1.8), postoperative
numbness (8.3, 2.4), and postoperative pain (8.1, 2.5). Outcomes of
moderate value included time spent under anesthesia (7.0, 3.2),
visibility of the scar (6.3, 3.5), size of the incision (5.5; 3.4), an
incision hidden in the ear canal (5.4, 3.9), and cost of the surgery to
the hospital (5.1, 3.9). There were no outcomes of low value except
postoperative bandage color (2.0, 2.9), the negative control. See Figure
1 for a chart of perceived values of ear surgery outcomes.
On multivariable regression analysis, increasing age was associated with
decreased value placed on size of incision (β=-0.06, p<0.001)
and visibility of scar (β=-0.07, p<0.001), accounting for
covariates. In other words for every 10-year increase in age, the value
of incision size decreased by 0.6 points and the value of scar
visibility decreased by 0.7, points adjusting for covariates. There were
no significant associations between outcomes and other variables, such
as gender or Spanish-speaking status.