Rhinoplasty High Impact Articles
There are few topics in plastic surgery more heavily discussed and published than rhinoplasty. However, a single manuscript reviewing highly cited, “classic” papers on rhinoplasty has not been published. Our objective was to identify the 50 most highly cited articles on rhinoplasty from six well-known peer-reviewed journals.
Methods/Technique:
A review of the literature was performed using Thomson/Reuters Web of Knowledge to identify the most highly cited articles on rhinoplasty in the following six journals – Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (PRS), Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery (JPRAS), Annals of Plastic Surgery, Facial Plastic Surgery Clinics of North America, Clinics in Plastic Surgery, and Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Data was collected on number of total citations and citations per year, anatomical/surgical technique, preoperative considerations, psychosocial implications, and study design (clinical or basic science).
Results/Complications:
The top 50 cited articles were identified. Publication dates ranged from 1969 to 2004 with 70% published in the last 20 years (since 1993). The number of citations ranged from 41 to 216. The most frequently reported topics were technique and outcomes data (n=24), graft selection materials (n=9), tip rhinoplasty (n=6), anatomy (n=4), and psychosocial considerations (n=4). There were also three review articles cited.
Study design included review of techniques and innovative materials, analysis of outcome-based data, case series, and national survey data analysis. There were no randomized controlled trials. The most cited article overall was Jack Sheen’s “Spreader graft: a method of reconstructing the roof of the middle nasal vault following rhinoplasty”, published in PRS, July 1984. The most cited article on functional rhinoplasty was “The relative importance of septal and nasal valvular surgery in correcting airway obstruction in primary and secondary rhinoplasty” by Mark Constantian, published in PRS, July 1996. The most cited article on tip rhinoplasty was John Tebbetts’ “Shaping and positioning the nasal tip without structural disruption: a new, systematic approach” in PRS, July 1994.
Conclusion:
The cited articles in this manuscript represent the most well-known clinical data, techniques, and scientific studies pertaining to rhinoplasty today. The convenience of listing all these articles in one reference may allow all surgeons – seasoned and new – to efficiently review articles well-recognized in the rhinoplasty literature to complement their practice.