Publications in Plastic Surgery and Reconstruction: A Review from a Developing Country, Sudan

Area of Science:

• Medical Sciences
• Surgical Specialties

Background:

• Plastic and reconstructive surgery services require enhancement in developing African nations.
• Research and publication output from these regions are notably scarce.
• This review specifically examines published articles originating from Sudan within plastic and reconstructive surgery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically identify and analyze published literature on plastic and reconstructive surgery from Sudan.
• To assess the scope and trends of research in this surgical specialty within the Sudanese context.

Main Methods:

• Adherence to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines.
• Systematic literature search conducted across PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science databases.
• Inclusion criteria focused on English-language articles pertaining to plastic and reconstructive surgery published in Sudan.

Main Results:

• A total of 23 articles met the inclusion criteria, with publication dates spanning from 1969 to 2023.
• The majority of publications (17 out of 23) were in open-access journals, while 6 were subscription-based.
• Retrospective studies constituted the most common study type (eight articles), with Khartoum Teaching Hospital being the most frequent study location.

Conclusions:

• The review highlights a significant paucity of published research on plastic surgery in Sudan.
• Further investigation is warranted to identify and address the challenges impeding research productivity in this surgical field.