From Prompts to Practice: Evaluating ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok Against Plastic Surgeons in Local Flap Decision-Making

Abstract

<b>Background</b>: Local flaps are a cornerstone of reconstructive plastic surgery for oncological skin defects, ensuring functional recovery and aesthetic integration. Their selection, however, varies with surgeon experience. Generative artificial intelligence has emerged as a potential decision-support tool, although its clinical role remains uncertain. <b>Methods</b>: We evaluated three generative AI platforms (ChatGPT-5 by OpenAI, Grok by xAI, and Gemini by Google DeepMind) in their free-access versions available in September 2025. Ten preoperative photographs of suspected cutaneous neoplastic lesions from diverse facial and limb sites were submitted to each platform in a two-step task: concise description of site, size, and tissue involvement, followed by the single most suitable local flap for reconstruction. Outputs were compared with the unanimous consensus of experienced plastic surgeons. <b>Results</b>: Performance differed across models. ChatGPT-5 consistently described lesion size accurately and achieved complete concordance with surgeons in flap selection. Grok showed intermediate performance, tending to recognise tissue planes better than lesion size and proposing flaps that were often acceptable but not always the preferred choice. Gemini estimated size well, yet was inconsistent for anatomical site, tissue involvement, and flap recommendation. When partially correct answers were considered acceptable, differences narrowed but the overall ranking remained unchanged. <b>Conclusion</b>: Generative AI can support reconstructive reasoning from clinical images with variable reliability. In this series, ChatGPT-5 was the most dependable for local flap planning, suggesting a potential role in education and preliminary decision-making. Larger studies using standardised image acquisition and explicit uncertainty reporting are needed to confirm clinical applicability and safety.

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