No abstract

No abstract

Academic promotion is linked to research productivity. The purpose of this study was to assess the correlation between quantitative measures of academic productivity and academic rank among academic oral and maxillofacial surgeons. This was a cross‐sectional study of full‐time academic oral and maxillofacial surgeons in the United States. The predictor variables were categorized as demographic (gender, medical degree, research doctorate, other advanced degree) and quantitative measures of academic productivity (total number of publications, total number of citations, maximum number of citations for a single article, I‐10 index [number of publications with ≥10 citations], and h‐index [number of publications h with ≥h citations each]). The outcome variable was current academic rank (instructor, assistant professor, associate professor, professor, or endowed professor). Descriptive, bivariate, and multiple regression statistics were computed to evaluate associations between the predictors and academic rank. Receiver‐operator characteristic curves were computed to identify thresholds for academic promotion. The sample consisted of 324 academic oral and maxillofacial surgeons, of whom 11.7% were female, 40% had medical degrees, and 8% had research doctorates. The h‐index was the most strongly correlated with academic rank (ρ=0.62, p<0.001). H‐indexes of ≥4, ≥8, and ≥13 were identified as thresholds for promotion to associate professor, professor, and endowed professor, respectively (p<0.001). This study found that the h‐index was strongly correlated with academic rank among oral and maxillofacial surgery faculty members and thus suggests that promotions committees should consider using the h‐index as an additional method to assess research activity.

Background: Sensory recovery following phalloplasty and vaginoplasty for gender dysphoria is essential to the overall success of gender-confirming surgery. Anecdotal evidence suggests that superior reinnervation results are seen in genitoplasty compared to other peripheral nerve repair scenarios. Despite these observed differences, the quality of available literature is poor. Methods: The authors reviewed the body of English language literature regarding sensory outcomes following genitoplasty for gender confirmation. Results:The available body of literature discussing the basic science and clinical science aspects of sensory recovery following gender-confirming genitoplasty is small. Available data show that sensory recovery following vaginoplasty produces high rates of reported orgasmic ability, largely through the neoclitoris, and a neovagina with vibratory and pressure sensation similar to that of the native vagina. Phalloplasty sensory outcomes are variable, with the largest series reporting return of sensation in the neophallus that is slightly less than what is measured in control men. Erogenous sensation, including the ability to orgasm, is present in nearly all patients after several months. Conclusions: Existing series indicate that genitoplasty patients experience faster and more complete recovery than any other peripheral nerve regeneration scenarios. However, there are many potential confounding factors in assessment and reporting, and more consistent and reproducible measure endpoints measures are needed. Further research is needed to better understand both the basic science and clinical science of peripheral nerve regeneration in genitoplasty, which may change fundamental aspects of current paradigms of peripheral nerve regeneration.