Digital evolution has undoubtedly reshaped modern medicine, collapsing the boundaries between experts and laypersons. This review highlights the increasing prevalence of Do-It-Yourself (DIY) surgeries driven by the widespread accessibility of unregulated health information. We consider the causes driving dangerous DIY surgery and explore what potential essential reforms are required to eliminate this silent contributor to avoidable mortality and morbidity. Debates around telemedicine, digital health, patient autonomy and the dissemination of sensitive medical procedures to the general public are considered. This review demonstrates that most cases involving self-surgery are not mere medical failures but were driven by social pressure and the widespread availability of online medical material. How much online transparency of professional data constitutes too much for the good of the general public? Is too little information even more dangerous when combined with misinformation and apparent online peer validation.
Atreya et al. (Fri,) studied this question.