Plastic Surgery Research From Low- and Middle-income Countries Over a Decade: A Web of Science Analysis

Research publications from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are underrepresented in the plastic surgery literature. Identifying trends in impactful research publications from LMICs can help guide strategies for more equitable contributions to the field from nations facing similar barriers to success.

Using Web of Science, the top 100 most-cited plastic surgery articles published by researchers from LMICs over the past decade were collected. Trends in various factors, such as authorship contribution, country affiliation, and institutional affiliation were analyzed. Coauthorship collaborations were illustrated using VOSviewer.

The top 100 articles had a combined total of 3398 citations, ranging from 16 to 157 citations per article. India and Egypt accounted for 81% of publications, likely attributable to the research collaborations between these nations and high-income countries. Craniofacial surgery, which is performed at disproportionately higher rates in LMICs, was the main research focus in 22 of 100 publications.

As plastic surgery continues to evolve worldwide, promoting the formation of partnerships between underrepresented LMICs and high-income countries will drastically improve the field. These findings provide a snapshot of key LMIC-based contributors to the plastic surgery literature, offering a resource that may be referenced by potential collaborators.