With this issue, the JOURNAL OF MICROSURGERY completes its first year of publication. It is customary, then, to count one's blessings at this point-a devoted staff, an avid readership, a hard-working and cooperative Editorial Board, generous benefactors.
It would be a mistake, however, not to recognize the fact that this comes at a time when periodicals of all types face an uncertain future because of an unique situation-simultaneous recession and inflation. In deference to the times, a simple step can be taken that has many advantages and few disadvantages-that is to convert the Journal to a quarterly. This will not delay the publication of papers. It will be helpful in allowing a longer review and revision time, which is an advantage to authors, editors, and readers alike. Moreover, it is reversible should the volume of high-quality papers become so great that a quarterly of reasonable size will not accommodate them. Whatever the course, the essential is that a high-quality publication continue to render a valuable service.
Today, those who publish their work in scientific publications do so because, like Thomas Sydenham, they consider the sharing of their experience and discoveries to be in the public weal. Sydenham would have been hard pressed to build his reasoning upon a rich background of previously published work, simply because such a background did not exist. But what a pity should he never have published his work on that account!