Summary
Background and purpose of study
Assessment and benchmarking of research output is becoming a necessity in the quest
for research funds and grants. However, reports on the trends in international research
output by plastic surgeons over the years are lacking. We longitudinally analysed
plastic surgery publications over the last three decades.
Materials and methods
Data on the topic of surgical interest and the anatomical region of research, the
country of origin, and the origin and number of collaborating clinics were noted for
each original article published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the British
Journal of Plastic Surgery, and the European Journal of Plastic Surgery in 1972, 1980,
1988, 1996, and 2004.
Main findings and Conclusions
The number of articles in three international plastic surgery journals has more than
doubled over the last three decades. Reconstruction of acquired defects remained the
most important topic in all three journals, but an interest in rejuvenation or aesthetic
surgery seems to replace that in basic research. The head and neck area remains the
anatomical region of most interest to date, but this interest has decreased substantially.
Most articles still originate from the USA, but the absolute and relative number of
articles originating from Europe and Asia is rapidly increasing. Also, the published
output of multi-national scientific collaboration is increasing. Even though authors
from larger countries, in general, contribute more publications in absolute numbers,
authors from small countries have a more efficient output relative to the number of
inhabitants and GDP of their country.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 15, 2006
Accepted:
March 5,
2006
Received:
February 20,
2006
Identification
Copyright
© 2006 The British Association of Plastic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
