What is ACTPRAS ?

ACTPRAS a binational research initiative established with the full support of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) and endorsement from Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). ACTPRAS forms the Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery arm of the Clinical Trials Network of Australia and New Zealand (CTANZ), an initiative of RACS. The network aims to develop and foster multi-centre studies that are clinically relevant to three streams of surgery:

Plastics including Craniofacial & Microsurgery

Reconstruction including Hand & Burns Surgery

Aesthetic Surgery

Why does this matter ?

Much of the evidence base in PRS-related surgical disciplines is of a relatively low standard compared with non-surgical disciplines and could be significantly improved through targeted research. Health care is delivered in a similar manner across both Australia and New Zealand, permitting the generation of internationally competitive datasets and research that is of direct relevance to Australasian healthcare.

The structure of ACTPRAS is also attractive for international collaborators seeking additional research sites with facilitation through partner organisations in other countries such as the Reconstructive Surgery Trials Network (RSTN) in the United Kingdom.

 

Who is ACTPRAS for?

Anybody from medical student to consultant can become involved in ACTPRAS via the website. We are particularly keen to encourage medical students and clinicians in disciplines that directly relate to PRS to become involved. For example: orthopaedic trainees with an interest in hand surgery are encouraged to engage.

How to get involvedWhat can contributors get out of ACTPRAS?

  • Join

    Join our mailing list to get updates along with other plastic surgeons, who receive regular updates on ACTPRAS projects.

  • Collaborate

    If you want less involvement: contributing to multi-centre data collection as a collaborator can be an effective way to get recognition and in some instances, citable authorship on national and international presentations and publications.

  • Pitch

    Submit your idea for a clinical trial. If successful ACTPRAS will support you in developing it.

How does authorship work ?

The terms of authorship are defined by each project at the outset. ACTPRAS follows the ICMJE guidance on authorship for collaborative studies. Usually the steering group will be Pubmed cited authors and take responsibility for the manuscript. Collaborators hitting pre-agreed targets (e.g. recruiting a certain number of patients) will be Pubmed cited. Collaborators not meeting the criteria will be acknowledged but will not be Pubmed cited.

 

Current Projects

Australasian-Led

  • AWAKE: Use of Wide Awake Local Anaesthetic No Tourniquet Surgery in Australasia.

International Trials

  • CANVAS: A CompArison of Non-Absorbable S​utures Versus Absorbable sutures for Skin surgery
  • CIPHUR: Chlorhexidine vs Iodine Prep in Hand SURgery.
  • WIRE: Should Kirschner wires be buried or left exposed after hand fracture fixation?
  • INTELLECT: A retrospective audit on lower limb trauma.
  • LINEUP: Examining management of ulnar polydactyly in infants.