Journal profile · SURGERY
Archives of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery
ISSN 2234-0831 · eISSN 2288-9337 · Korean Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery · Korea, Republic of
Archives of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery: CAS Zone 4 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 0.2 (journal website); fully open access; APC about USD 60; median 45 days to acceptance (36 articles, last 24 months); 21 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Archives of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery is published by Korean Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and is in Zone 4 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Facial Rejuvenation and Surgery Techniques, Reconstructive Facial Surgery Techniques and Breast Implant and Reconstruction, together about 36.8% of its articles. Its main subfields are Surgery. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Archives of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (Arch Aesthetetic Plast Surg, AAPS) is the official journal of the Korean Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and is a peer-reviewed international journal focusing on scientific and clinical advances in aesthetic plastic surgery. AAPS is an open access journal and is published 4 times per year on the 30th of January, April, July, October. The goal of AAPS is to inform readers about significant development in all areas related to aesthetic surgery including oculoplastic surgery, rhinoplasty, facial rejuvenation, facial contouring, breast surgery, body contouring, scar management, auriculoplasty, laser treatment and basic research related to aesthetic plastic surgery. In aesthetic plastic surgery, surgical concepts and technical approaches are different for those of different racial and ethnic backgrounds, and thus AAPS aims to be the leading forum for communications of techniques related to Asia-pacific patients’ needs. AAPS also embraces its identity as the leading aesthetic surgery journal in Asia-Pacific, aiming to be the main forum for communication among the aesthetic surgery scholars and clinicians of the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, and the main voice presenting this group’s technical innovations to an international audience. Significant up-to-date papers on any aspects of aesthetic plastic surgery — original article, editorial, review article, as well as idea and innovation, letter to the editor and case report and communication are invited for publication.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): SURGERY
Editor-in-chief Seung Min NamPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named South Korea 18, United States 8, Japan 4, Brazil 3, Thailand 2 (41 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Facial Rejuvenation and Surgery TechniquesMedicine14.6%
- Reconstructive Facial Surgery TechniquesMedicine11.8%
- Breast Implant and ReconstructionMedicine10.5%
- Reconstructive Surgery and Microvascular TechniquesMedicine10%
- Dermatologic Treatments and ResearchMedicine8.9%
- Nasal Surgery and Airway StudiesMedicine5.2%
- Body Contouring and SurgeryMedicine5.2%
- Facial Nerve Paralysis Treatment and ResearchMedicine4.1%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Surgery | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Surgery | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 0.2Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 11OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 18OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.45OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 17LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 743 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 13 | 13 | 2 |
| 2025 | 21 | 21 | 10 |
| 2024 | 31 | 31 | 17 |
| 2023 | 42 | 42 | 39 |
| 2022 | 35 | 35 | 31 |
| 2021 | 31 | 31 | 42 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
45 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 19 days – 106 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 26 days (36 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 84 days
- Sample
- 36 articles with submission and acceptance dates (41 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 17 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 17 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | USD 60 | No | CC BY-NC | |
| OpenAlex | USD 60 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 60 | No | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 300 / USD 250 / USD 200 | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 3
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 3,000 words
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
Article types accepted15, with length limits
- case report, and figures legend in that order. The case report and idea innovation should not exceed 2,000 words, 5 figures, and 20 references. The abstracts should be uns…main text ≤ 2,000 words · abstract ≤ 200 words · figures and tables ≤ 5 · references ≤ 20
- case reports/ideas and innovationsCase reports/ideas and innovations deal with clinical cases of surgical interest or innovation.Length not stated
- communicationArticle Category Editorial Review Original article Case report Idea and innovation Communication OthersLength not stated
- communicationsCommunications are interesting and instructive information for readers.Length not stated
- discussionsDiscussions should present information and perspective based on the experience of the discussant, who may agree or disagree with an author’s hypothesis, methodo…Length not stated
- editorialll fields of aesthetic plastic surgery. Editorials should not exceed 2,000 words, excluding references, tables, and figures. REVIEW ARTICLESmain text ≤ 2,000 words · abstract ≤ 200 words · figures and tables ≤ 5 · references ≤ 20
- editorialsEditorials are invited perspectives on an area of plastic surgery, dealing with very active fields of research, current surgical interests, fresh insights, and …Length not stated
- idea and innovationArticle Category Editorial Review Original article Case report Idea and innovation Communication OthersLength not stated
- original articleManuscripts will not be acceptable for publication unless they meet the following editorial requirements. Manuscripts must include 1) Title page, 2) Structured …main text ≤ 3,000 words · figures and tables ≤ 25 · references ≤ 25
- original articlesOriginal articles are papers reporting the results of basic and clinical investigations that are sufficiently well documented to be acceptable to critical reade…Length not stated
- othersArticle Category Editorial Review Original article Case report Idea and innovation Communication OthersLength not stated
- reviewArticle Category Editorial Review Original article Case report Idea and innovation Communication OthersLength not stated
- review articleReview papers will be requested by the editors. Review articles are generally prepared in the same format as original articles, but the details of the manuscrip…main text ≤ 3,000 words · abstract ≤ 200 words · figures and tables ≤ 5 · references ≤ 20
- review articlesReview articles will be requested by the editors. Review articles address a specific question or issue that is relevant for clinical practice and provide an evi…Length not stated
- special topicsSpecial topics cover areas of aesthetic plastic surgery. The authors provide a global perspective on each topic, critically evaluated recent works in the field,…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websitePublication ethics, License & copyright, Peer review
- Publication ethics
Follows COPE guidelines for settlement of any misconduct. Model summary
AAPS will follow the guidelines by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE, https://publicationethics.org/) for settlement of any misconduct.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright COPYRIGHTS AND CREATIVE COMMONS ATTRIBUTION LICENSE
The manuscript, when published, will become the property of the journal. All published papers become the permanent property of the Korean Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Copyrights of all published materials are owned by the Korean Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. They also follow the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License available from: https://creativecommons.org/license…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review PEER REVIEW PROCESS
This journal uses double-blind review, which means that both the reviewer and author identities are concealed from the reviewers, and vice versa, throughout the review process.All manuscripts will be evaluated by three peer reviewers who are selected by the editors. The acceptance criteria for all papers are based on the quality and originality of the research and its clinical and scientific signi…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Korean Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery
- Country or region
- Korea, Republic of
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2234-0831
- Electronic ISSN
- 2288-9337
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 32 (July 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Archives of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery
What CAS zone is Archives of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Archives of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery is in Zone 4 of Medicine, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Surgery. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Archives of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 0.2; this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; h-index 11.
How long does peer review take at Archives of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery?
Based on the dates recorded on 36 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 45 days (interquartile range 19–106 days); authors report an average review time of about 17 weeks. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Archives of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: ≥ 3; Manuscript length: ≤ 3,000 words; Reference style: Numbered, in order of citation. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Archives of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery based?
Of the 41 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are South Korea (18), United States (8) and Japan (4). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Archives of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Archives of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery is indexed in ESCI and DOAJ.
Is Archives of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery open access, and what is the APC?
Archives of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 60.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .