JPRAS has come a long way in four years from its original title of The British Journal of Plastic Surgery with half the pages we now have, and an Editorial Board entirely from the UK. The transition has been slower than expected, not because of any resistance to the vision, but because of the innate inertia of the complex systems that govern such a title. Elsevier, BAPRAS, the authors and the readers have all embraced and facilitated our changes and I am sure will continue to do so. This is my last issue of the journal and I leave with a lot undone, a lot more to do and complete faith that our new Editor will continue the journey with his own vision and verve, ably supported by an excellent team of co-editors and editorial advisors. We will see the journal grow in size and content, I hope, whilst taking full advantage of the new technology, and continue to be an inclusive, readable and international journal of surgical reconstruction embracing an ever wider group of contributing specialties and appealing across specialty and regional divides. In this it will help to define the new directions that Plastic Surgery will take, reflected in a less elitist, less narrow membership, with more emphasis on cooperative care teams, and the continuing rise of collaboration, as the pathway to perfection.
As I leave I want to thank Annette Fowler at Elsevier, the most charming and effective assistant I have ever met, Chris Hammond who has guided me well, Chris Khoo who has worked so effectively to build our relationships with our valued partners, and our other Editors, our editorial board and our authors, all of whom contribute greatly to our development and performance. But two groups stand out for special thanks. Our reviewers are the heart and lungs of the journal: they work without demur for no tangible rewards, to very high standards, and entirely selflessly. This pool of goodwill and high expertise so freely given is emblematic of the special virtues of our profession and each reviewer deserves our thanks. And the last three people to thank know who they are, and will be seeing a bit more of me as I hand over the red pen and the world of utilisation, gold standards, track records and challenges to Andrew Burd and wish him and his team well. Thank you.
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© 2007 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
