• Sammy Al-Benna and Andreas Gohritz.
• From the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University and Tygerberg Academic Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa.
• Ann Plast Surg. 2020 Aug 1; 85 (2S Suppl 2): S171-S172.

BackgroundNational plastic surgery society web sites are an important source of information for patients, family members, and healthcare professionals. There are currently no standardized recommendations for the information provided on web sites. The aim of this study was to assess the information available on each national plastic surgery society web site on the current pandemic of COVID-19.MethodsA Google search was performed of United Nations member sovereign states to determine whether they had a national plastic surgery society web site and to assess its contents. The presence of COVID-19 information was recorded. Access to contact information, Facebook page, Twitter, and Instagram handles were noted.ResultsThirty-five percent of sovereign states had plastic surgery society web sites. Twenty-two percent of national society web sites had a specific COVID-19 section. Fourteen (93%) of these 15 web sites had COVID-19-specific guidelines available for health care professionals.ConclusionsCOVID-19 information provided by national plastic surgery society web sites is sparse. Two-thirds of national plastic surgery societies do not have a web presence. The availability of COVID-19 clinical guidelines and patient information sheets on national plastic surgery society web sites is limited. This study suggests that improvement and increase in COVID-19 information provided by many national plastic surgery society web sites are needed.

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