From presentation to publication: an 11-year comparison of aesthetic and reconstructive surgery research among Chilean plastic surgeons

Background: The transition from a presentation in a scientific conference to publication in an academic journal should be the ideal journey for a research project. This phenomenon is summarized in a conversion rate, which has been previously reported in the literature. The aim of this study was to determine the characteristics and conversion rate of Chilean authors’ aesthetic and reconstructive research projects in a nationwide study. Methods: Conference abstracts from the two official Chilean plastic surgery meetings released between 2008 and 2018 were analyzed. A bibliographic search of all published articles involving each Chilean plastic surgeon followed. This information was cross-referenced to obtain the conversion rates and time to publication for transferred studies. Fisher's exact test and Mann-Whitney test were used to establish statistical associations. Results: Four hundred sixty-eight abstracts were included, and 227 articles were found in our bibliographic search. Of these, 82 were considered to qualify as transferred studies. Aesthetic surgery publications had a higher proportion of prospective design than reconstructive articles (34.6% vs 20.1% (p = 0.02)). Median time to publication was 15 months, with a longer delay for reconstructive articles (19.5 vs 13 (p = 0.035)). The 2008–2016 conversion rate index was 19.2%, which was significantly higher for aesthetic surgery studies (36.4% vs 11.9% (p < 0.001)). Conclusions: Despite a smaller proportion of plastic surgery research being focused on aesthetic topics in our sample, they accounted for higher quality study design, shorter time to publication, and higher overall chances of publication following presentations in local meetings. Level of evidence: Not ratable.