ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the variety of ways in which social media is currently used by patients and doctors for clinical care, summarises the benefits and challenges to a clinician of using social media and provides a roadmap for safe engagement by the modern-day breast surgeon. The issue of social media is particularly pertinent for the modern-day breast surgeon. In addition, breast surgeons, like their plastic surgical counterparts, are increasingly using social media to disseminate information and educate as well as self-promote in terms of their own interests. The modern-day breast surgeon therefore needs to be familiar with the social media landscape, notably how patients utilise different platforms for a variety of reasons and how to engage on these platforms safely, appropriately and effectively. Therefore, inferences can be drawn about the social media landscape that some breast surgeons are likely to find themselves occupying in the future.
