The intensity of post-treatment melanoma patient follow-up varies widely am
ong physicians. We investigated whether physician age accounts for the obse
rved variation in surveillance intensity among plastic surgeons. A custom-d
esigned questionnaire was mailed to USA and non-USA surgeons, all of whom w
ere members of the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons.
Subjects were asked how they use 14 specific follow-up modalities during y
ears 1-5 and 10 following primary treatment for patients with cutaneous mel
anoma. Repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to compare practice
patterns by TNM stage, year post-surgery, and age. Of the 3,032 questionnai
res mailed, 1,142 (38%) were returned. Of those returned, 395 (35%) were ev
aluable. Non-evaluability was usually due to lack of melanoma patient follo
w-up in surgeons' practices. Follow-up strategies for most of the 14 modali
ties were highly correlated across TNM stages and years post-surgery, as ex
pected. The pattern of testing varied significantly by surgeon age for 3 mo
dalities (complete blood count, liver function tests, and chest X-ray), but
the variation was quite small. We concluded that the post-treatment survei
llance practice patterns of ASPRS members caring for patients with cutaneou
s melanoma vary only marginally with physician age. Continuing medical educ
ation could account for this observation.