It is with great pleasure that we welcome you to the first edition of the Australasian Journal of Plastic Surgery (AJOPS). This is the beginning of a wonderful legacy of collaboration and scholarship for our local specialty, which in time will further develop the global reputation and respect our Australasian plastic surgeons have always had. For over a century we have punched way above our weight division in this part of the world. From the earliest beginnings of the specialty, revered New Zealanders Sir Harold Gillies, Sir Archibald McIndoe and Sir William Manchester helped lay the foundations. More recently we have the world’s most cited plastic surgeon (Australian G Ian Taylor) and the number one cited institution in the world (The Royal Melbourne Hospital).1 Therefore it is past time that we had our own local journal. In addition to our past reputation, much great content from our local conferences never goes on to be published. Hopefully we can provide a timely pathway to foster high quality, peer reviewed, local research, to make it into print. Open access online platforms enable the relatively quick publication of research without the huge costs and time delay of traditional print journals. In time we will gain an impact factor and reputation that we can all be proud of.
What began as a spark of an idea, a pitch to Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) council in 2014, has grown to fruition. We have achieved the financial backing and support of both the ASPS and the Australasian Foundation for Plastic Surgery. We have engaged the services of a highly experienced managing editor, opened the website and put in place the IT systems and editorial templates to enable the launch of this open access online journal.
The success of a project such as this will entirely depend on the quality of its content and we are appreciative to have three of our most globally respected and eminent plastic surgeons agree to be our Honorary Editors, Bryan Mendelson, Wayne Morrison and G Ian Taylor. All bring to this journal great experience and international reputation. Their immense experience will help guide this project to long-term success.
We see AJOPS as a way of uniting our ever-fragmenting specialty. As such we are delighted to have the backing of our many subspecialty organisations. The Australasian Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, the Australian and New Zealand Burns Association, the Australian Cleft Lip and Palate Association, the Australian and New Zealand Society of Craniomaxillofacial Surgeons, ICOBRA, Paediatric Plastic Surgeons, the Australian Hand Surgery Society and the New Zealand Association of Plastic Surgeons have all backed the journal and, in many cases, provided section editors. In addition, we have the support of the Board of Training which has agreed to give publications in AJOPS recognition for training requirements. In this first edition you will see a number of editorials from our honorary and section editors. We encourage these sections to make the most of the platform we have set up and to make it your journal.
Many of our colleagues have agreed to be a part of this project as either section editors (Table 1) or reviewers. The success of the journal depends on making this a top-quality publication and that depends on the rigorous peer review of content.
Our online systems are easy to use to upload submissions. Feedback to help streamline our systems is very welcome.
We hope you enjoy our first, and future editions, of the Australasian Journal of Plastic Surgery.