Facial Filler Injections– Questions Patients Ask and Where They Find Answers

Introduction: The most pressing questions patients ask about facial fillers and the sources to which patients are directed remain incompletely understood. Methods: The search engine optimization tool Ahrefs was utilized to extract Google metadata on searches performed in the United States. The most frequently asked questions were categorized by topic, while websites were categorized by authoring organization. JAMA benchmark criteria were used for website information quality assessment. Results: A total of 300 questions for the term “fillers” were extracted. The majority of search queries (24.0%) and monthly search volume (39.3%) pertained to procedural costs. The mean JAMA score for private practice sources (1.1 ± 0.57) was significantly lower than that of corporate sources (2.6 ± 0.55, p= 0.0003) but not significantly lower than academic pages (1.6 ± 1.34, p=0.483). With respect to monthly search volume, queries concerning lip fillers have been increasingly asked at a rate that exceeds other injection sites. Conclusion: Online searches for facial fillers often involve the topic of cost, and frequently direct patients to websites that contain inadequate information on authorship, attribution, disclosure and currency. When compared to other anatomic sites, search queries involving lip fillers have increased over the last three years.