PRS Global Open marks record year for total citations, impact factor
PRS Global Open, the official open-access journal of ASPS, generated more than 9,200 total citations last year – a 31 percent increase over the previous year – and recorded a 20 percent increase in its impact factor, which grew to 1.8, according to the newly released 2025 Web of Science Journal Citation Reports (JCR).
The 2025 JCR included 6,200 fully open-access (i.e., "gold") journals, an increase
of more than 1,500 such open-access journals in the past five years. The rise in PRS Global Open's citation rate highlights both the increasing demand for unrestricted, peer-reviewed research – especially in emerging markets and educational institutions, as well as PRS Global Open's position as the leading open-access journal in plastic surgery.
"It's gratifying to see the amazing growth of PRS Global Open over the last several years," says PRS Global Open Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Janis, MD. "Clearly our journal resonates with authors and readers alike with record numbers of submissions, citations, views and downloads. The open-access platform allows innovators to publish their ideas faster than ever before – and the articles are viewable and free to virtually anyone in the world with an internet connection."
As an online journal, PRS Global Open tallied roughly 1 million site visits and 1.3 million page views in the past year.
Dr. Janis says PRS Global Open is built on three pillars: speed, quality and patience. On average, the journal provides a first decision in less than 23 days and publishes accepted articles in 37 days.
"As our specialty evolves, so do our journals," Dr. Janis says. "We are deeply committed to enhancing the author experience by significantly reducing the time from acceptance to publication, while publishing clinically relevant, rigorous and globally accessible content to advance the care of patients around the world. PRS Global Open continues to grow by leaps and bounds, with double-digit growth year after year."
According to the 2025 JCR report, PRS Global Open ranked sixth among the most-cited journals in plastic surgery with an impact factor of 1.8.
"The landscape of scientific literature is experiencing unprecedented change," says ASPS President Scott Hollenbeck, MD. "The importance of peer-reviewed open-access publications like PRS Global Open cannot be understated – not only as a means of democratizing access to science but allowing space for more novel ideas than ever before."
Dr. Janis says those ideas will continue to remain at the heart of the PRS Global Open Editorial Board's mission.
"The metrics are gratifying," he says. "But the Editorial Board is really driven by one mission: To improve global plastic surgery safety, outcomes and care – one open access article at a time."