Knowledge of the quality of evidence in facial plastic surgery research is essential for the implementation of evidence-based practices.
The purpose of this study is to provide an update over the past decade as to whether the level of evidence in leading journals featuring topics in facial plastic surgery has changed in comparison with prior reports.
This study is a systematic review, designed to evaluate the level of evidence observed in the facial plastic surgery literature over time.
Five journals were queried using facial plastic surgery keywords for four selected years for a 10-year period.
After screening, articles were assessed for the presence of various methodological traits and were evaluated for overall level of evidence.
These variables were compared across the years studied to evaluate trends in level of evidence.