The Use of Artificial Intelligence in Responding to Patient Questions About Anterolateral Thigh Flap Surgery for Diabetic Foot Ulcers.
Publication/Presentation Date
11-21-2025
Abstract
Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) care represents a significant challenge in plastic and reconstructive surgery. Oftentimes, patients encounter complex articles and websites to answer questions about their surgeries, including anterolateral thigh (ALT) flaps. Artificial intelligence (AI) represents a new and simplified resource for DFU patients seeking information regarding their care. To assess ChatGPT's utility as a patient resource, we evaluated the accuracy, comprehensiveness, and safety of AI-generated responses to frequently asked questions (FAQs) related to ALT flap surgery for DFU.Ten DFU and ALT flap care FAQs were posed to ChatGPT Model 3.5 in June 2024. Four plastic surgeons evaluated responses using a 10-point Likert scale for accuracy, comprehensiveness, and danger of ChatGPT's answers. Surgeons also provided qualitative feedback. Response readability was assessed using 10 readability indexes, averaged to produce a reading grade level for each response.Overall, ChatGPT answered patient questions with a mean accuracy of 9.1 ± 1.2, comprehensiveness of 8.2 ± 1.5, and danger of 2.0 ± 1.0. ChatGPT answered at a mean grade level of 19.8 ± 20.1. Qualitatively, physician reviewers complimented the organizational clarity of the responses (
ISSN
1098-8947
Published In/Presented At
Llaurado, L. J., Shah, K. S., Snee, I. A., Rohrich, R. N., Bender, R. J., Episalla, N. C., Youn, R. C., & Evans, K. K. (2025). The Use of Artificial Intelligence in Responding to Patient Questions About Anterolateral Thigh Flap Surgery for Diabetic Foot Ulcers. Journal of reconstructive microsurgery, 10.1055/a-2737-5287. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1055/a-2737-5287
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences
PubMedID
41192454
Department(s)
Medical Education
Document Type
Article