Identifying Sources of Funding That Contribute to Scholastic Productivity in Academic Plastic Surgeons

The Impact of a Centralized Plastic Surgery Research Infrastructure on Scholarly Productivity and Output

Although research and innovation is a key within the field of plastic and reconstructive surgery, the impact of team structure, interpersonal dynamics, and/or standardized infrastructure on scholarly output has been infrequently studied. In this work, we present the formation and implementation of a novel plastic surgery research program that aims to unite previously disparate clinical and translational research efforts at our institution to facilitate critical inquiry. From July 2022 to June 2023, our department launched a pilot research program based on three pillars: (1) formalization of a research curriculum (monthly research meetings for agenda setting and discussion for project honing, formal research leadership for meeting facilitation and workflow regulation), (2) development of a centralized database to compile ongoing research (Google Drive repository to house all ongoing research documents, facilitate real-time editing, and provide resources/templates for assisting in the research process), and (3) bolstering of a core research identity built on mentorship and collaboration (more frequent interactions to shift previously siloed faculty-student mentorship into a robust milieu of intercollaboration). During the first year, we saw an increased number of publications and presentations, as well as robust participation and contribution from faculty, residents, and medical students. Future directions will focus on addressing resource limitation, such as project idea availability and funding, to sustain the success and growth of this novel research infrastructure.

Rise of Acellular Dermal Matrix: Cost Consciousness, Industry Payment, and Publication Productivity

BACKGROUND

Despite high cost and lack of FDA approval for breast surgery, acellular dermal matrix (ADM) has become commonplace in reconstructive surgery and has been the focus of more than 500 plastic surgery publications since its wide adoption. We hypothesized that ADM-related academic output would correlate with public interest and industry funding.

STUDY DESIGN

All PubMed-indexed studies focusing on ADM in 11 plastic surgery journals were included (n = 535). Data on industry funding to the 17 most productive authors were extracted from the Open Payments Database. Google Trends in "breast surgery cost" and related terms were queried. Relationships among publication quantity, author industry funding, and public interest were analyzed by Pearson's correlation and linear regression.

RESULTS

The most published authors produced 8 qualifying publications on average (range 5 to 17), with 80% focused on breast surgery. These individuals grossed a total of $19 million industry dollars overall with $17 million (89%) in nonconsulting compensation from ADM-producing companies (NC-ADM). Individual total compensation and NC-ADM compensation, by quartile, were $194,000/$320,000/$1.25 million and $17,000/$210,000/$1.1 million, respectively. These variables showed strong correlation with individual publication rate with a linear regression coefficient of $110K in NC-ADM per publication (p < 0.01). Authors disclosed funding in a mean ± SD of 65 ± 26% of their work with strong correlation between disclosure and NC-ADM (p < 0.01). Google "breast surgery cost" search volume has grown rapidly in significant correlation with ADM publications (p = 0.02).

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates significant correlation between ADM-related publication, industry funding, funding disclosure, and public interest. Education in the potential for such relationships and the importance of objectivity in plastic surgery warrants discussion.

A Primer for Success as an Early Career Academic Plastic Surgeon

The early career academic plastic surgeon strives to be an expert surgeon, an innovative researcher, and an impactful educator. Navigating these challenges is difficult in a healthcare landscape with diminishing public research funding, increasing demand from institutions for clinical productivity, and decreased value of surgical education. To help the junior academic plastic surgeon, this article discusses the fundamental aspects of developing an early academic plastic surgery practice, rooted in clinical care, research, and education.

METHODS

Using published literature, expert opinion, and faculty interviews, the authors prepared this primer for education and guidance of plastic surgery residents considering a career in academic plastic surgery and early career academic plastic surgeons.

RESULTS

This primer highlights elements important to succeeding as a junior academic plastic surgeon including defining goals and priorities, institutional and financial support, mentorship, education of students and residents, developing a practice niche, promotion and tenure, and social support and burnout.

CONCLUSION

The early career academic plastic surgeon can create an environment for academic success with appropriate institutional support, mentorship, personal, and social support, to progress toward promotion while minimizing burnout and professional exhaustion.

Beyond the Scalpel: Attracting and Nurturing Surgeon-Scientists in Plastic Surgery

SUMMARY

With plastic surgery being at the forefront of innovation and discovery in multiple research disciplines, plastic surgery is poised for M.D./Ph.D. and research-focused M.D. trainees to be attracted to this field. Surprisingly, recent reports have shown that the number of surgeon-scientists pursuing research is on the decline, with these declines being even more pronounced within plastic surgery. It is essential that plastic surgery remains a leader in translational research by cultivating a group of individuals who have been trained in basic research and are thereby competitive to obtain extramural grant funding. To address this need, the authors review data elucidating why the research-oriented trainee may forego pursuing a career in plastic surgery. Although much of the existing literature is speculative, the authors identified the current number of M.D./Ph.D.s in plastic surgery using data obtained from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and investigated number of grants in plastic surgery compared to other medical and surgical fields using the National Institutes of Health Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools Expenditures and Results. The authors hypothesize that economic constraints and difficulty securing protected research time may be contributing to fewer trainees pursuing plastic surgery. The purpose of this article is (1) to discuss potential reasons deterring research-oriented trainees from pursuing careers as surgeon-scientists within plastic surgery; (2) to propose solutions that may attract more trainees interested in careers as surgeon-scientists to the field of plastic surgery; (3) to highlight the lack of quantitative data regarding surgeon-scientist training in plastic surgery; and (4) to propose and encourage future research avenues to help attract and nurture surgeon-scientists in plastic surgery.

Majority of Most-Cited Articles in Top Plastic Surgery Journals Do Not Receive Funding

BACKGROUND

Plastic surgery faculty, residencies, and institutions are frequently judged on the quantity and quality of their research output. Some of the most impressive individuals in the specialty receive financial support in the form of grants and payments to help with research ideas.

OBJECTIVES

The authors sought to discern if funding directly correlates to greater impact in the top plastic surgery journals as measured by citations.

METHODS

Using the Web of Science database, the authors identified the 50 most-cited articles in each of the top plastic surgery journals from January 1975 to August 2020. The articles were scanned for funding sources and categorized as industry, federal, foundational, and institutional, while stratifying by decade.

RESULTS

Between 16 journals, 13.3% of the most-cited articles received funding, 2.6% of which came from industry, 5.4% from government, 4.4% from foundations, and 0.86% from institutions. The percentage of most-cited articles and the proportion that received funding were both correlated with decade (P = 0.0017 and P = 0.043, respectively). However, only the percentage of articles was found to significantly increase over time (P = 0.0068).

CONCLUSIONS

Although funding leads to meaningful publications, this study showed that financial support is not required to have an influence in plastic surgery research.

Global research trends in complex oral sensitivity disorder: A systematic bibliometric analysis of the framework

OBJECTIVES

A systematic bibliometric analysis was performed to investigate trends in complex oral sensitivity disorder (COSD) research worldwide and compare the contributions of different countries/institutions, scientific journals, authors, keywords, and citations.

METHODS

Web of Science database from 1985 to 2018 was systematically searched to identify all relevant articles using the MeSH terms "complex oral sensitivity disorder" and all synonyms used in the literature. We included original articles, review articles, letters to the editor, and book chapters in the English language and in 27 different ISI categories of medical sciences. Several bibliometric indicators were used.

RESULTS

We identified 10 633 articles, of which only 3349 were eligible with only 443 being included for quantitative analyses. The annual percentage growth rate for article publication was 9.16 fractionalized articles with the most productive countries (reported only in 428 out of 443 articles) being Italy (n = 66, 15.42%) followed by USA (n = 61, 14.25%) and with Italy achieving the greatest number of citations (n = 1415). Similarly, the most productive institution for article publication was the University of Turku, Finland, with 39 (8.8%) published articles. Among the top 20 departments, 15 were affiliated with dental institutions. The most productive source was "Journal of Oral Pathology and Medicine" with 38 (8.58%) articles, whereas the most productive author was "Lopez-Jornet P" with 19 articles (6.52 fractionalized articles).

CONCLUSIONS

There is an increasing trend for publications on COSD. Collaboration among different countries must improve in order to implement research on this disorder, which seems to be mainly a condition for the dental discipline.

Organizing a Multidisciplinary Research Team: Strategies, Execution, and Outcomes

Maintaining a competitive edge is increasingly imperative for surgical research teams. To publish as efficiently and effectively as possible, research teams should apply business strategies and theories in everyday practice. Drawing from concrete examples in both the corporate and nonprofit worlds, and by reflecting on the practices of the Michigan Comprehensive Hand Center for Innovation Research, this article identifies important business theories that can be applied to plastic surgery research. These theories can potentially be applied in practice and include (1) development of a realistic vision and strategies, (2) effective execution of these strategies, and (3) reflective evaluation for continual improvement.