PRS smashes its own record for the fourth time in five years
The influence and impact of PRS continues to grow.
The benchmarking and analytics tool InCites in June released its 2021 Journal Citation Report, revealing that PRS bested the 4.209 Impact Factor from last year that had, until this year's 4.730 Impact Factor, been its highest mark.
A journal's Impact Factor is a measure of how frequently the average article in the publication is cited throughout scientific literature during the year (calculated by dividing the number of citations in a year by the total number of articles published in the two previous years). Of 210 total journals in the "surgery" category, PRS ranks 29 – the highest entry for any plastic surgery-focused publication – and again it's the No. 1 plastic surgery journal in the world.
The milestone is significant not only in the sense that it marks the fourth record-breaking Impact Factor in the past five years, but it's also the fifth consecutive year that PRS topped 30,000 total citations. In fact, in the past year, PRS was cited more than 45,600 times.
"This is not only phenomenal news, it's also a quantum leap in terms of the influence that PRS enjoys as the specialty's most respected journal," says PRS Editor-in-Chief Rod Rohrich, MD. "It's a reflection of the hard work of the authors, editors, reviewers, editorial board and staff, without whom we simply wouldn't have this success. Considering the number of submissions we see every year, we have a very low acceptance rate, but the quality of content that's printed in PRS makes the journal what it is. This is the motherlode for plastic surgery."
Although an Impact Factor is not the only metric upon which a journal's quality and content is based, it remains an important gauge in determining influence. Authors, readers and advertisers consider Impact Factor scores in selecting which journals to work with or read.
As in recent years, several of the most-cited articles from PRS focused on topics relating to breast implants – including breast implant illness, BIA-ALCL, capsular contracture and reconstruction. However, articles relating to gender inequality and lower-extremity trauma reconstruction also gained a lot of attention.
"The increase in the PRS Impact Factor over the past five years indicates the academic relevance and influence of the articles published in the white journal – not only in plastic surgery, but also over a broad spectrum of both surgical and nonsurgical specialties that focus on reconstructive and cosmetic issues," says James Stuzin, MD, co-editor of PRS. "This year's increase reflects the ever-increasing breadth of interest that remains the focus of PRS."
Kevin C. Chung, MD, MS, who will succeed Dr. Rohrich as PRS editor-in-chief next year, says he looks forward to embracing the challenge of keeping PRS in the upper echelon of medical journals.
"I'm gratified to see the continued increase in our Impact Factor, which is a testament to the confidence of authors in submitting their best work to us," Dr. Chung says. "PRS belongs in the select list of elite surgical journals. As I assume the editor-in-chief position in January, I will work closely with the editorial board to maintain the highest quality of publications for our worldwide, expanding readership."
Dr. Rohrich says that it's a pleasure to end his term as the journal's editor-in-chief on a prestigious high note, but he's more proud – and grateful to everyone with whom he worked – to cement the importance of plastic surgery research in the larger academic field.
"Former PRS Editor-in-Chief Robert Goldwyn, MD, gave me one piece of advice when I was coming in – and that was to nourish the baby and let it grow. 'Do that,' he told me, 'and it will be strong and healthy.' I'm proud of where the journal is now; it's really come into its own in the scope of academic medicine. The science of what we do matters around the world – and I'm sure that influence will continue to grow in the future."