Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (PRS) Journal

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Quick answer: Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (abbreviated Plast Reconstr Surg, informally “PRS”) is a peer-reviewed surgery journal indexed in MEDLINE, with ISSN 0032-1052 (print) and 1529-4242 (electronic) per the NLM Catalog, checked 7 November 2026. Its Journal Impact Factor changes every June; a published figure is 5.169 for the 2022 Journal Citation Reports, so read the current value in JCR and name the data year when you cite it.

What the journal is

Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery is a surgery journal whose NLM Catalog record lists the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons, the American Association of Plastic Surgeons, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and the American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons as associated bodies. The current record shows Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Hagerstown, MD as publisher, a start date of January 2002, and “Currently indexed for MEDLINE” (NLM Catalog, checked 7 November 2026).

Abbreviation and identifiers

The NLM title abbreviation, used in PubMed and in most biomedical reference styles, is Plast Reconstr Surg. The NLM Catalog holds two serial records for the title:

NLM ID 1306050: Plast Reconstr Surg, ISSN 0032-1052 (print) and 1529-4242 (electronic), Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Hagerstown, MD, from January 2002; currently indexed for MEDLINE.
NLM ID 101243648: Plast Reconstr Surg (1946), ISSN 1075-1270 (print), Williams & Wilkins Co., Baltimore, MD; not currently indexed for MEDLINE. This is the earlier title record, relevant when you cite or retrieve older volumes.

The NLM Catalog lists the frequency as monthly (2008 onward).

Indexing

The NLM Catalog records the current title as currently indexed for MEDLINE. Indexing status is a property of a catalogue record on a given date, not of the journal for all time; for a submission decision, check the record again on the day you decide.

Impact factor

What the metric is

The Journal Impact Factor (JIF) is published each June by Clarivate in the Journal Citation Reports. It is a journal-level ratio: citations received in the data year to items the journal published in the previous two years, divided by the number of citable items (articles and reviews) published in those two years. It describes the journal as a whole and says nothing about any single paper.

A dated value

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reported that the journal reached an all-time high of 5.169 in the 2022 Journal Citation Report (based on 47,800 citations counted in 2021), up from 4.736 the year before, and ranked 27th among surgery journals (28th in 2021), citing InCites/JCR (ASPS news item, checked 7 November 2026). That is history for a specific data year. It is not the current figure: the value is recalculated every year, and listings on other sites show differing numbers for recent years. For a CV, grant application or promotion file, read the current value in JCR (or on the journal’s own metrics page, if it credits JCR) and write it as, for example, “JIF X.X (JCR 20XX)”.

Why the number moves

Because the numerator counts citations in one year and the denominator counts the prior two years of items, a change in volume, in the share of review articles, or in a few highly cited papers moves the ratio. A rank within the category (27th among surgery journals in the 2022 report) places the number in context better than the number alone. For a worked example of a journal page that states its figure with year and source, see Scientific Reports’ impact factor. For the competing four-year Scopus metric, see CiteScore.

Cautions on using the number

The JIF is a journal average, not a measure of an article’s or an author’s quality; the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) recommends against using journal-based metrics as a surrogate for the quality of individual research articles. See also DORA vs CoARA.
Always give the data year and the source. A figure quoted without a year cannot be checked.

Similarly named journals

Several titles share words with this one and are distinct journals with their own records and metrics: Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery – Global Open, Annals of Plastic Surgery, and the Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery. Search the NLM Catalog by ISSN rather than by title words to avoid confusing them, and cite by the abbreviation in the record you are using.

Frequently asked questions

What is the abbreviation of the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery journal?

The NLM title abbreviation is Plast Reconstr Surg; the journal is also informally called PRS.

What are the ISSNs of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery?

0032-1052 (print) and 1529-4242 (electronic), per the NLM Catalog.

Is Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery indexed in MEDLINE?

The NLM Catalog record for the current title says “Currently indexed for MEDLINE” (checked 7 November 2026).

What is the impact factor of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery?

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reported 5.169 for the 2022 Journal Citation Report. The value changes each year, so cite the current JCR figure with its data year.

Sources

NLM Catalog, Plast Reconstr Surg (NLM ID 1306050): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/?term=1306050%5Bnlmid%5D, checked 7 November 2026.
NLM Catalog, Plast Reconstr Surg (1946) (NLM ID 101243648): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/?term=101243648%5Bnlmid%5D, checked 7 November 2026.
American Society of Plastic Surgeons, PSN Extra, “PRS hits Impact Factor record high for fifth time in six years”: https://plasticsurgery.org/for-medical-professionals/publications/psn-extra/news/prs-hits-impact-factor-record-high-for-fifth-time-in-six-years, checked 7 November 2026.
San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment: https://sfdora.org/.

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