[01] Syafinaz Amir Johan, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka-Manipal Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia. [02] Khavisha Vijaya Kumar, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka-Manipal Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia. [03] Yinyun Thow, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka-Manipal Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia. [04] Khadijah Mutalib, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka-Manipal Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia. [05] Kirthiga Mohan, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka-Manipal Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia.

Cosmetic surgery is a discipline of medicine focusing on enhancing the aesthetic appearance of a person through surgical and medical techniques performed on all areas of the body in the absence of diseases or defects. The aim of this research is to study the factors influencing medical students’ acceptance towards cosmetic surgery and the likeliness of their future involvement either as a consumer, medical practitioner, or both. This study has never been done in Malaysia among medical students. A cross-sectional study was conducted among medical 210 medical students from a private medical college in Malaysia. Sociodemographic information, body image satisfaction, acceptance of cosmetic surgery scale (ACSS), and awareness of cosmetic surgery were collected using self-administered questionnaires. Based on our study, in terms of acceptance towards cosmetic surgery, three variables; ethnicity, religious beliefs, and awareness towards cosmetic surgery show significant association. It was also found that although the field of cosmetic surgery is rapidly growing, most medical students still has low awareness of this specialty. Among those who chose to have future involvement in this field, 6.11% chose to be involved as consumers only, 22.78% as medical practitioners only, and 15.56% as both.

Cosmetic, Surgery, Plastic, Students, Medical, Awareness, Future; Body Image

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