Challenging Times: Challenges Accepted!

Dear readers,

I extend a hearty greeting to you this New Years Eve of 2023 on behalf of the entire editorial board of the Journal of Cutaneous and Aesthetic Surgery.

As I pen my first editorial upon assuming charge as the Editor in Chief of our prestigious Journal of Cutaneous and Aesthetic Surgery, I am humbled by this responsibility and feel deeply indebted to the forbears of this mantle who have strived hard to bring forth this journal to its present standard. Building a niche in the scientific field for any journal is a tough task. Especially so when the environment pushes researchers to publish or perish and the numbers of predatory and non-predatory journals forever increase in number.

The COVID19 pandemic brought out unique and unprecedented challenges. Resilience of the parent organization the Association of Cutaneous and Aesthetic Surgeons, the editorial board, and our publishers ensured the publication of issues, although somewhat delayed were completed in good enough time. Coronavirus-related publication preference had a minimal effect on our topic selection except for an occasional necessary early print of a relevant submission.[1]

Our journal has shown a healthy trend in journal metrics. However, despite increased submissions from authors within India and internationally, and a healthy acceptance rate of 25%–30% for the past 2 years, there are issues that the journal is faced with.

Our lag period from submission to print publication had increased to 18 months for a brief period, with numerous delays in reviews and print publishing during the pandemic. We have ensured it gets back on track for the newer submissions.

A long-felt need and a “done” for any scientific journal is ahead of print (AOP) online version of its accepted articles. With the switch to the newer publication platform, we have started hosting AOP online version of the accepted articles. Once fully implemented the authors can be assured their article shall be available online within a few weeks of final acceptance. Although seemingly simple, this is our foremost challenge which we shall shortly overcome.

Easy access to online availability of articles has led to the reduced readership of printed copies amongst members. The challenge to go green is another gauntlet we have accepted. Keeping this in view and with the intention to go green, we introduce and encourage our readers to opt for an only online access to JCAS. Our members can opt for this by mailing their name and ACSI membership number to editorinchiefjcas@gmail.com. Notwithstanding this option, authors with published articles in any issue shall still get their print copy of that issue. Continuing with this green initiative we shall have only editorial and invited articles, original, review, and CME articles with an adequate reference to all other accepted submissions in print format.

Our endeavor has been to publish research aimed at “Cutaneous and Aesthetic Surgeons” and regret some research articles sent in could not be considered. Occasionally an exceptional article may be accepted as we continue to be core dermatologists at heart.

Keeping abreast with advances in aesthetics and cutaneous surgery we plan to introduce symposia for each issue. Our aim is to present what’s known and what’s new on a topic presented by invited researchers who shall be experts in that field.

We have been blessed with a team of reviewers who have relentlessly reviewed and re-reviewed articles to perfection. I encourage our learned readers to register themselves as reviewers. You may also send in your preferred subspeciality of choice for reviews.

I gratefully acknowledge my colleagues on the editorial board, the reviewers, our advisors, and the authors and readers for their support. A special thanks to the publishers Wolters Kluwer whose dedicated work in the backend helps us deliver each issue packaged for a good read.

The challenge to be recognized in the scientific community and maintaining those standards is a responsibility as well as an opportunity we are seized with. I look forward to the coming year converting each challenge into an accomplishment, making each issue read, a scientific discovery in itself!

Happy reading!