Evaluation of the educational quality and reliability of YouTube videos addressing eyelid ptosis surgery

Purpose: To evaluate the educational content, quality, and reliability of YouTube videos addressing anterior approach ptosis surgery. Methods: A search on YouTube using the term "ptosis surgery" was performed between March 20 and March 26 2021. The quality, reliability, and accuracy of the contents of 38 videos meeting the inclusion criteria were evaluated by two independent ophthalmologists using the DISCERN questionnaire and the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark criteria. The Global Quality Score (GQS) and a surgical scoring system were used to assess the educational value of the content. Results: The mean DISCERN score was 32.8 +/- 10, and the mean JAMA score was 1.3 +/- 0.5, indicating poor quality; the mean global quality score was 3.1 +/- 1.1, indicating moderate quality; and the mean surgical score was 7.5 +/- 2.7, indicating moderate to good quality. The surgical, DISCERN, and GQS scores of the videos uploaded by physicians were significantly higher than those of the videos uploaded by private clinics (p = .015, p = .049, and p = .01, respectively). There was a significant positive correlation between the surgical, DISCERN, JAMA, and GQS scores (p < .001). A significant positive correlation was found between video duration and surgical score (p = .013), DISCERN score (p < 0.001), and GQS score (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Videos with known sources, uploaded by physicians, and supported by audio narration may be useful in obtaining educational information. However, the available videos are not a reliable source of educational information about ptosis surgery.