This is an unbelievable journey, from International Microsurgery Club (IMC) to International Microsurgery Journal (IMJ). Microsurgery is a unique specialty traversing many departments, including plastic surgery, orthopedics, maxillofacial surgery, hand surgery, neurosurgery, general surgery, vascular surgery, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, and oral surgery. Although numerous organized real societies exist globally, an accessible, online interactive platform specific to microsurgery was underdeveloped. To provide a comprehensive online platform base on social media, International Microsurgery Club was established on Facebook in May 2016 for international microsurgeons to facilitate case discussion, sharing of technical experience, online paper writing collaboration, and promotion of microsurgery meetings and workshops. IMC expanded very quickly because it provided a significant number of high quality, complex case discussions uploaded by users in a global forum permitting expert interaction without constraints of time or location. Ten months after IMC was established, and it has surpassed 5000 members, many of which now interact not only online, but also in the real world.

We greatly appreciate all the teaching material shared by users. A website was established to classify all posted cases; however, we sought to explore a more formal means of documenting these cases permanently. We were excited to take advantage of the opportunity to launch a journal to preserve these high quality teaching materials in a precise format.

Therefore, IMJ will become a unique journal based on a tremendous, active online microsurgery group. We happily accept case reports, as well as discussion of reconstructive approaches for unique, complex, challenging cases that forms the basis of IMC, and highlights the fundamental techniques of reconstructive microsurgery. On the other hand, we still welcome all other formats of papers. With your unwavering and immense support, we hope to build a journal of excellence and become one of the best journals in the field of microsurgery.

Our belief is: “Stronger microsurgeons for a better world.”

Tommy Nai-Jen Chang,
MD Editor-in-Chief
International Microsurgery Journal