It is with great sorrow that I have to announce that one of our Editorial Board members, Prof. Luigi Donati, passed away unexpectedly in February 2003 following a short period of illness.

Prof. Donati was a good friend of mine and of the European Journal of Plastic Surgery. He was always ready to review articles fairly and clearly. Clinically, his interests were wide, not only related to burns rehabilitation but also to plastic surgery in general. He found time for research and, in relation to this, was enthusiastic about the emerging areas of tissue engineering and robotics. He was indeed a Renaissance man, and he leaves a considerable gap in Italian plastic surgery.

I and my colleagues on the Editorial Board of the European Journal of Plastic Surgery share the sorrow with his family. It is one of the advantages of a relatively small specialty, like plastic surgery, that great men, such as Luigi Donati, are never forgotten.

Ian T. Jackson, Editor-in-Chief