JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery, 1999 to 2014: the path is made by walking.

Abstract

JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery (then the Archives of Facial PlasticSurgery)was launchedwithgreatoptimism15yearsago.The American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) had long desired a specialty journal in facial plastic surgery but also valued its roots in otolaryngology and its long-termrelationshipwith theArchives ofOtolaryngology– Head & Neck Surgery. In addition to being the official journal of theAAFPRS,wehad initiated a special section, “Facial Plastic SurgeryNews,”underEditorByron (Ron)Bailey,MD,which I edited for some years. This section reviewed and highlighted the innovative sciencepresented at theAAFPRSmeetings.Thismutuallybeneficial relationshipbetweentheAAFPRS and Archives of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery continuedunder the charismatic leadershipofMichael E. Johns,MD. The many trips to Emory for his editorial board meetings are fondly remembered by his editorial board members. Each meeting began with a short but stimulating discussion related to the bigger issues ofmedicine, often including ethical insights. In the later 1990s, an ad hoc journal committee of the AAFPRS was tasked to investigate beginning a journal dedicated to facial plastic surgery.Requests forproposalswere sent tomajorpublishers;all respondedpositively. Inoneof thoseserendipitousevents thatoccur throughout thehistoryofour specialty, wewere considering thesewhen I attended one ofMike Johns’ editorial boardmeetings forArchives ofOtolaryngology– Head & Neck Surgery at Emory. I explained to him that the AAFPRShaddecided theywanted tobegin a journal dedicated to facial plastic surgery but also to continue their relationship as best possible with his journal. Mike listened and understood.Rather thantryingtodissuademeandthesociety,hesuggested we stay in the JAMA family and begin a sister journal: the Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery. The idea seemed almost toogoodtobepossible,but Iwent toChicagoandmetwithRobert L. Kennett, vice president for publishing at the American Medical Association (AMA). After initial discussionwedrafted the business plan andmission statement for our newArchives specialty journal. George Lundberg,MD, then the JAMA editor in chief, was supportive. A key concept was that it would be a multispecialty journal, publishing the best science from the manyspecialties thatcontribute to facialplastic surgery.Weput together a multispecialty editorial board and mission statement. That statement guides us to this time: • Promote the art and science of facial plastic surgery by publishing significant peer-reviewedarticles on all aspects of reconstructive and cosmetic surgery of the head and neck. • Promotetheeducationandcontributionsofphysiciansworldwide. • Provide a forum to present important and relevant issues in ethics and public policy. Our first issuewent press in January 1999 and beganwith a joint editorial from Mike Johns and myself introducing the journal and affirming our continued commitment to the family of journals. The early years of the journal required some intensework by the editorial boardmembers and reviewers. The real credit for our success, however, goes to the amazing and dedicated JAMA and Archives journals staff. We have been fortunate to work under 3 exemplary JAMA editors, each of whom supported us andworkedwith us in the development of the journal: George Lundberg, MD, Cathy DeAngelis, MD, and HowardBauchner,MD. In this short editorial, I can’t begin to thank all of themanystaffwhohavebeenessential toourgrowthand success over the years. Imust, however,mentionCheryl Iverson, who was my main source of wisdom in all things editorial for so many years. Jan Thyng in my home editorial office and Lauren Fischer in the Chicago office have been the essential hands-on editorial staff that make it all work. In recent years Annette Flanagin has been instrumental in helpingus successfullymanage the intricacies of themedical publishingworld. There are somanywonderful individuals from editorialprocessingandproductionstaff, to illustrators, toweb editors andmore.Youknowwhoyouare, and I thankyouwith all my heart. The journal has continued to evolve and improveover the years. As the official journal for the International Federation of Facial Plastic Surgery Societies (IFFPSS), we began to publish quality manuscripts from around the globe. We published theme issues on Asian Facial Plastic Surgery, Pediatric FacialPlasticSurgery,OculoplasticSurgery,andmore.Ourprint issue publication frequency increased from quarterly to 6 issuesperyear, and the journalnowpublishes articlesonlineeveryweek. The journal’s impact factor has doubled from0.8 to 1.6 and has a 5-year impact factor of 1.8. Opportunities such asmultimedia and the possibility to publish “online first” are immenselypositive for facialplastic surgeryandcouldnothave been foreseen 15 years ago. We have become leaders in evidence-basedmedicine andmanyother areas fromfacial nerve studies, to tissue engineering, to outcomes analysis in nasal surgery. I must thank our editorial board as a group for their Opinion