PURPOSE: The use of photographs in plastic surgery is common to document injuries and treatment, guide operative planning, and provide patient education. Studies in other surgical fields have shown that patients value viewing their clinical images, and report improved understanding of their condition and greater satisfaction with care. However, no studies have assessed the impact of viewing intraoperative photographs on patient satisfaction in hand surgery. It is hypothesized that viewing intraoperative photographs will similarly enhance patient satisfaction in elective hand surgery compared to standard care without photographs. METHODS: A retrospective observational study of patients undergoing elective hand surgery was performed. Inclusion criteria were completion of pre- and postoperative patient reported outcomes measures (PROMs) and the HAND-Q, a validated postoperative satisfaction survey. The study was composed of two groups: those who viewed intraoperative photographs and controls who did not. Patients who viewed their photographs were also asked questions about their experience and perception of the images. Clinical variables, including procedure type, surgery date, and demographics, were obtained from the medical records. Patient-reported outcomes, including pain, function, and neurocognitive status, were assessed using standard PROMs and the QuickDASH survey, and overall satisfaction scores were compared between the photo-viewing and control groups RESULTS: 72 elective hand surgery patients were included; 39 in the photo group and 33 controls. Demographics were similar between groups except for a higher proportion of males in the photo group (51% vs 24%, p=0.019). The distribution of procedure types was similar across groups, with most involving nerve procedures (71%). Baseline PROMs, including pain levels, did not differ significantly between groups (p0.05). Postoperatively, both groups demonstrated improvement in PROMs with no significant differences in the magnitude of change between groups (p0.05). However, overall satisfaction on the HAND-Q was significantly higher in the photo group compared with controls (28 [26-28] vs 26 [22-28], p=0.024). Patients who viewed intraoperative photos also reported strongly positive perceptions of the photos' educational value. CONCLUSION: Viewing intraoperative photographs was associated with significantly higher overall patient satisfaction, despite no differences in pain, function, or neurocognitive postoperative outcomes between groups. These findings suggest that the increased satisfaction is likely attributed to viewing the photographs, rather than differences in surgical outcomes. This highlights the potential use of clinical photographs to enhance perceived surgical success in elective hand surgery. *Source: https://ps-rc.org/meeting/Program/2026/EP140.cgi*