The 10th anniversary of the Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery is more than a publishing milestone, it is a reflection of the growth and evolution of our specialty and its culture. Therefore, it is appropriate and instructive to review the role of literature in the field of facial plastic and reconstructive surgery from the origins of the specialty to the present day.

The current Oxford University Dictionary² defines literature as "a body of written works related by subject-matter, by language or place of origin, or by dominant cultural standards." In the information age, we might paraphrase this statement to define literature as an archive of the cultural milieu of its creators, which includes documentation of the cultural elements and history of the creators, along with what today might be called their strategic plan. Accepting . . . [Full Text of this Article]