[Are autonomous departments better research institutions? Influence of independence on publication performance and...

Despite its increasing acceptance as an autonomous specialty the field of plastic surgery remains underrepresented in terms of independent departments with a dedicated research infrastructure. The objective of this study was to analyze the current quantitative and qualitative publication performance of academic plastic surgery in Germany in order to compare independent departments and subordinate organizational structures regarding their scientific efficiency.

Via a pubmed analysis the publication performance between 2014 and 2015 was analyzed. In a publication content analysis potential differences in the publications' quality were assessed.

The majority of publications (81 %) and of the cumulative impact factor (87 %) were created within the independent departments. Top-publications with an impact factor > 5 were published in departments only. The qualitative content analysis displayed a varying research-focus in the different organizational structures. Whereas in departments 50 % of publications were experimental, clinical-experimental or clinical, in subordinate organizational structures a major focus lay on retrospective-statistical work with 24 % in contrast to 10 % in independent departments.

This study demonstrates that the type of organizational structure could be a major influencing factor on the publication performance in German academic plastic surgery. An increased autonomy of an academic plastic surgery unit will most likely improve the publication performance and quality and could lead to a more complex study design.