Editorial

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On December 3rd, 2009, at the formal gala dinner of the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS) in the impressive Old Hall, Lincoln’s Inn, London, the official affiliation of JPRAS with the European Association of Plastic Surgeons (EURAPS) was announced by Simon Kay, the President of BAPRAS. It took many years and a huge amount of correspondence and personal encounters to finally reach this decision.

From now on JPRAS will be the official Journal of our Association. Many manuscripts from EURAPS members, as well as the abstracts of the annual meeting, will find their way to this well-established Journal, which maintains its quality and position under the editorship of Stefan Hofer.

EURAPS will support JPRAS financially by providing 85 subscriptions for colleagues in less well-off countries. In this way important information will be made available for those who cannot afford a subscription themselves.

I am happy that in the future we will be able to inform the readers about the upcoming EURAPS meetings through JPRAS and I take this opportunity to stress the fact that every plastic surgeon and resident can attend the annual EURAPS meetings without the need of sponsorship.

Two decades into its existence, EURAPS continues to promote excellence of plastic surgery in Europe and to serve as a forum for innovation, experience and research during a two-day meeting with high-level presentations in one congress hall, with the purpose to present the audience with the state of the art in plastic surgery.

As Secretary General of EURAPS it gives me great pleasure that the affiliation with JPRAS will be implemented at the 21st Annual Meeting in Manchester. The first EURAPS meeting in the United Kingdom will take place on May 27–29, 2010 with Gus McGrouther as local host. All the more reason to attend this interesting meeting, which will be preceded by an exciting one-day symposium: “How Science and Industry will affect your practice - now!” At the opening ceremony of the EURAPS meeting itself on the evening of Thursday May 27, 2010, Simon Kay will address the audience with a presentation: “EURAPS and JPRAS: What took us so long?”

I look forward to seeing many readers of JPRAS at the meeting in Manchester and I hope to be able to welcome them as new members of EURAPS in the near future.