The Surgery Journal
Author Instructions

Thank you for contributing to The Surgery Journal. Please read the instructions carefully and observe all the
directions given. Failure to do so may result in unnecessary delays in publishing your article.

SUBMISSION CHECKLISTAll manuscripts must be submitted at the following link:
http://www.editorialmanager.com/tsj☐

AUTHOR INFORMATION- All authors: full name, degrees, department, affiliation, e-mail address- Corresponding author: mailing address, telephone number☐

MANUSCRIPT FILE
- Must be digital - hard copy submissions are not accepted☐

ABSTRACT AND KEYWORDS- See the section Article Types for word limit☐

REFERENCES- Cited sequentially in AMA style☐

FIGURES AND TABLES- Cited sequentially and included in the main document☐

ART FILES- Must be saved separately from the main document☐

PERMISSIONS- Required if you plan to reproduce content from a published source or include aphotograph of a patient- Patient permission forms available at www.thieme.com/journal-authors

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CONTENTS
MANUSCRIPT FORMAT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3
Article Types ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3
General Guidelines --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3
Title Page ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4
Abstract and Keywords ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4
Main Document ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4
Acknowledgments --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4
Conflict of Interest ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4
References ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6
Figure Captions ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7
Tables ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7
Videos ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7
DIGITAL ARTWORK PREPARATION ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 8
General Guidelines --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8
Color Art -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8
Art Labels ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8
SUBMISSION PROCEDURE---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9
Article Processing Charge (APC) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9
Submission Procedure ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9
Preprint Server Statement ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9
Revision Procedure --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9
PRODUCTION PROCEDURE-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10
Page Proofs ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10
POLICY STATEMENTS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11
Statement on Liability ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11
Definition of Authorship -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11
Copyright Statement ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 11
Statement of Ethics -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11
Patient Permission Policy and Thieme GDPR Policy --------------------------------------------------------------- 12
EDITORIAL CONTACTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13

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MANUSCRIPT FORMAT
Article Types
The following graph shows what types of articles are accepted for publication, and what requirement they may
have.

Article Type

Abstract Limit

Keywords Limit

Title Limit

Review

No limit

No limit

No limit

Original Article

No limit

No limit

No limit

Case Report

No limit

No limit

No limit

Invited Review

No limit

No limit

No limit

General Guidelines
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You must submit a digital copy of your manuscript. Hard copy submissions are not accepted.
Keep the format of your manuscript simple and clear. We will set your manuscript according to ourstyle—do not try to “design” the document.
The manuscript, including the title page, abstract and keywords, text, references, figure captions, andtables should be typewritten, double-spaced in 12-point font with 1-inch margins all around and saved
as one file.
Each figure should be saved as its own separate file. Do not embed figures within the manuscript file.
This requires special handling by Thieme’s Production Department.
Keep abbreviations to a minimum and be sure to explain all of them the first time they are used in thetext.
The manuscripts should be written in American English.
The authors should use Système International (SI) measurements. For clarity, nonmetric equivalents
may be included in parentheses following the SI measurements.
Use generic names for drugs. You may cite proprietary names in parentheses along with the name andlocation of the manufacturer.
Credit suppliers and manufacturers of equipment, drugs, and other brand-name material mentioned in
the manuscript within parentheses, giving the company name and primary location.

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MANUSCRIPT FORMAT continued
Title Page••

This journal adheres to a single-blinded peer-review policy. The title page should be included in themain document.
The title page should list the article title and the corresponding author’s full name, degree, title,
department, affiliation, mailing address, e-mail address, and telephone and fax numbers. It should also
list the full name, degree, title, department, and affiliation of every co-author.

Abstract and Keywords
See the section Article Types for word limits.
The abstract should briefly outline the content of the article and any conclusions it may reach. The keywords
should be words a reader would be likely to use in searching for the content of the article.
Main Document
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Please clearly distinguish the hierarchy of headings within the manuscript by using capital letters,
underline, italic, and bold styles as necessary.
As needed, use italic, superscripts, subscripts, and boldface, but otherwise do not use multiple fonts andfont sizes.
Do not insert page or section breaks except where noted in the Author Instructions.
Use hard returns (the Enter key) only at the end of a paragraph, not at the end of a line. Allow lines oftext to break automatically in your word-processing software. Do not justify your text.
Use only one space, not two, after periods.
Create tables using the Table function in Microsoft Word.

Thieme Editing Services
Thieme offers a language editing service for manuscripts, abstracts and theses in partnership with Enago, aworld-leading provider of author services to researchers around the world. Authors can choose from a range ofediting services and get their manuscripts edited by Enago’s professional medical editors. Authors that wish to
use this service will receive a 20% discount on all editing services. To find out more information or get a quote,please visit https://www.enago.com/thieme
Acknowledgments
The source of any financial support received and recognition of personal assistance for the work being publishedshould be indicated at the end of the article, just before the Reference section, under the heading
Acknowledgments.
Conflict of Interest
All authors (including corresponding and co-authors associated with the manuscript) must make a formal
statement at the time of submission indicating any potential conflict of interest that might constitute anembarrassment to any of the authors if it were not to be declared and were to emerge after publication. Suchconflicts might include, but are not limited to, shareholding in or receipt of a grant or consultancy fee from acompany whose product features in the submitted manuscript or which manufactures a competing product.
Should the article be accepted for publication, this information will be published with the paper.
Types of conflicts include: Consulting, Royalties, Research Support, Institutional Support, Ownership,
Stock/Options, Speakers Bureau, and Fellowship Support. Any commercial entity whose products are described,
reviewed, evaluated, or compared in the manuscript, except for those disclosed in the Acknowledgments section,
are potential conflicts.
This journal follows the guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors and an ICMJE
disclosure of potential conflicts of interest (COI) form must be submitted for each author at the time of4manuscript submission. Forms must be submitted even if there is no conflict of interest. It is the responsibility of
the corresponding author to ensure that all authors adhere to this policy prior to submission.
A conflict of interest statement must also be included in the manuscript after any "Acknowledgements" and"Funding" sections and should summarize all aspects of any conflicts of interest included on the ICMJE form. If
there is no conflict of interest, authors must include 'Conflict of Interest: none declared'.
Please click http://www.icmje.org/conflicts-of-interest to download a Conflict of Interest form. The disclosure
information is important in article processing. If the provided forms are incomplete or missing, it can causedelays in publishing of article.

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MANUSCRIPT FORMAT continued
References
References should be the most recent and pertinent literature available. It is essential that they are complete andthoroughly checked. If the reference information is incomplete, good online sites to search for full details are the
National Library of Medicine: www.nlm.nih.gov; Books in Print: www.booksinprint.com; PubMed:
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/; or individual publisher Web sites.
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References must be listed in AMA style, using Index Medicus journal title abbreviations.
References follow the article text. Insert a page break between the end of text and the start ofreferences.
References must be cited sequentially (NOT alphabetically) in the text using superscript numbers.
By way of exception to AMA style, do not italicize book titles or journal title abbreviations and do not
put a period at the end of a reference.
List all author names, up to and including six names. For more than six authors, list the first threefollowed by et al.
References should be styled per the following examples:1.

Citing a journal article:
Newburger JW, Takahashi M, Burns JC, et al. The treatment of Kawasaki syndrome withintravenous gamma-globulin. N Engl J Med 1986;315:341–347

2.

Citing a chapter in a book:
Toma H. Takayasu’s arteritis. In: Novick A, Scoble J, Hamilton G, eds. Renal Vascular Disease.
Philadelphia: WB Saunders; 1995:47–62

3.

Citing a book:
Stryer L. Biochemistry. 2nd ed. San Francisco: WH Freeman; 1981:559–596

4.

Citing a thesis:
Stern I. Hemorrhagic Complications of Anticoagulant Therapy [Ph.D. dissertation]. Evanston, IL:
Northwestern University; 1994

5.

Citing a government publication:
Food and Drug Administration. Jin Bu Huan Herbal Tablets. Rockville, MD: National Press Office;April 15, 1994. Talk Paper T94-22

6.

Citing an online article:
Rosenthal S, Chen R, Hadler S. The safety of acelluler pertussis vaccine vs whole-cell pertussis
vaccine [abstract]. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med [serial online]. 1996;150:457–460. Available at:
http://www.ama-assn.org/sci-pubs/journals/archive/ajdc/vol_150/no_5/abstract/htm. Accessed
November 10, 1996

7.

Citing a symposium article:
Eisenberg J. Market forces and physician workforce reform: why they may not work. Paper
presented at: Annual Meeting of the Association of American Medical Colleges; October 28,
1995; Washington, DC

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MANUSCRIPT FORMAT continued
Figure Captions
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Figures include photographs or radiographs, drawings, graphs, bar charts, flow charts, and pathways, but
NOT lists or tables.
Figures must be cited sequentially in the text. Number all figures (and corresponding figure captions)sequentially in the order they are cited in the text.
Figure captions should be written after the reference list. Insert a page break between the end of references
and the start of figure captions.
Figure captions should include a description of the figure and/or each lettered part (A, B, etc.) and of any
portions of the figure highlighted by arrows, arrowheads, asterisks, etc.
For a figure borrowed or adapted from another publication (used with permission), add a credit line inparentheses at the end of each figure legend. This credit line should be a complete bibliographic listing of thesource publication (as a reference), or other credit line as supplied by the copyright holder. For example(Reprinted with permission from Calfee DR, Wispelwey B. Brain abscess. Semin Neurol 2000;20:357.)

Tables
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Data given in tables should be commented on but not repeated in the text. Be sure that lists or columns ofrelated data are composed in a word-processing program like the rest of the text.
Do not intersperse tables in the text. Tables should appear after the figure captions. Insert a page break
between the end of the figure captions and the start of the tables.
Tables must be double-spaced and numbered in the same sequence they are cited in the text. A short
descriptive title should be provided for each table.
If a table contains artwork, supply the artwork separately as a digital file.
For tables borrowed or adapted from another publication (used with permission), add a credit line as thefirst footnote beneath each table. This credit line should be a complete bibliographical listing of the source
publication (as a reference), or other credit line as supplied by the copyright holder. For example, “Reprinted
with permission from Calfee DR, Wispelwey B. Brain abscess. Semin Neurol 2000;20:357.” (“Data from . . .”or “Adapted from . . .” may also be used, as appropriate.)
Other footnotes for tables should be indicated in the table using superscript letters in alphabetical order.
Any abbreviations used in the table should be explained at the end of the table in a footnote.

Videos••••

The following formats are acceptable: *.avi, *.mov and *.mpg.
For supplementary videos, the length should not exceed 4 minutes, and a legend of no more than 40 words
per video or per sequence is required (it should also be included in the main document).
All videos should include a clear, English language voice over explaining the demonstration or operation
being presented. Be precise, informative, and clear in your speech. Re-record audio in post-production forsound quality.
Be slow and deliberate in all movements. Be cautious of bad lighting, and white balance the camera eachtime you turn it on. Place the camera on a tripod and obscure the faces of any patients, or obtain a signed
Statement of Consent.

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DIGITAL ARTWORK PREPARATION
General Guidelines
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It is best to use Adobe Photoshop to create and save images, and Adobe Illustrator for line art and labels.
Do not submit art created in Microsoft Excel, Word, or PowerPoint. These files cannot be used by thetypesetter.
Save each figure in a separate file.
Do not compress files.
All black-and-white and color artwork should be at a resolution of 300 dpi (dots per inch) in TIFF format.
Line art should be 1,200 dpi in EPS or TIFF format. Contact the Production Editor at Thieme if you are unsureof the final size.
It is preferable for figures to be cropped to their final size (approximately 3½ inches for a single column and
up to 7 inches for a double column), or larger, and in the correct orientation. If art is submitted smaller andthen has to be enlarged, its resolution (dpi) and clarity will decrease.
Note: Lower resolutions (less than 300 dpi) and JPEG format (.jpg extension) for grayscale and color artwork
are strongly discouraged due to the poor quality they yield in printing, which requires 300 dpi resolution for
sharp, clear, detailed images. JPEG format, by definition, is a lower resolution (compressed) format designed
for quick upload on computer screens.

Color Art•

All color artwork should be saved in CMYK, not RGB. There are no charges for color art.

Art Labels
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Arrows, asterisks, and arrowheads (or other markers) should be white in dark or black areas and black inlight or white areas, and large in size. If not, these highlighting marks may become difficult to see when
figures are reduced in size during the typesetting process.
Use 1-point (or thicker) rules and leader lines.
Capitalize the first word of each label and all proper nouns. Consider using all capitals if you need a higher
level of labels.
Where there are alternate terms or spellings for a named structure, use the most common one and makesure it is consistent with what is used in the text.
Avoid using multiple fonts and font sizes for the labels; use only one or two sizes of a serif font.

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SUBMISSION PROCEDURE
Article Processing Charge (APC)
All contributions accepted and published in The Surgery Journal are fully Open Access, meaning that allcontributions are immediately made freely available to read, download, and share under the terms of a CC
License. Upon acceptance of your manuscript, the payment of the article processing charge (APC) is due. An
article will be moved into production once payment has been received. Learn more about Thieme’s Open Accessprogram by visiting https://www.thieme.com/en-us/who-we-serve/authors/journals/open-access. For thecurrent pricing, please go to “APC” and select “Price List”.
Submission Procedure•••

Consult the checklist on the first page of this document to ensure that you are ready to submit yourmanuscript.
Manuscripts must be submitted electronically at the following link:
http://www.editorialmanager.com/tsj
Always review your manuscript before submitting it. You may stop a submission at any phase and save it tosubmit later. After submission, you will receive a confirmation email. You can also check the status of yourmanuscript by logging in to the submission system. The Editor in Chief will inform you via email once a
decision has been made.

Preprint Server Statement
The Surgery Journal encourages the submission of manuscripts that have been deposited in an initial draft
version in preprint repositories such as Research Square, arXiv, and medRxiv. Drafts of short conference abstracts
or degree theses posted on the website of the degree-granting institution, and draft manuscripts deposited on
authors’ or institutional websites are also welcome. All other prior publication is forbidden.
During submission, authors should (1) note use of the preprint repository in the cover letter, (2) state what
adjustments and/or updates the draft has undergone between deposition and submission and (3) cite thepreprint, including the DOI, as a reference in the manuscript.
After submission to the journal, and until a final decision has been made, authors are discouraged from
depositing versions of their manuscript as preprints. Upon publication authors should add a link from thepreprint to the published article. Twelve months after publication, authors can update the preprint with theaccepted manuscript.

Revision Procedure
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Should the editors decide that your article requires a revision, you will need to make the changes via a wordprocessing program and resubmit it electronically.
Log In to the submission system and find your article, which will be marked for revision.
The best way to make revisions to your manuscript is by enabling the Track Changes mode in Microsoft
Word, which will automatically highlight and mark up revised text. Please submit both a marked up copy
and a clean copy of your revised manuscript to the submission system.
Your original files will still be available after you upload your revised manuscript, so you should delete any
redundant files before completing the submission.
You will also be provided space in which to respond to the reviewers’ and editors’ comments. Please be as
specific as possible in your response.

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PRODUCTION PROCEDURE
Page Proofs
Page proofs will be sent to you via email. The proofs will be in a PDF file format, which should be opened using
Acrobat Reader software. You will receive further instructions with your proofs. Take this opportunity to checkthe typeset text for typographic and related errors. Elective alterations are difficult to accommodate owing to theassociated time and expense of introducing them. Therefore, please be sure that when you submit yourmanuscript, it is accurate, complete, and final.

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POLICY STATEMENTS
Statement on Liability
The legislation on product liability makes increased demands on the duty of care to be exercised by authors ofscientific research and medical publications. This applies in particular to papers and publications containing
therapeutic directions or instructions and doses or dosage schedules. We therefore request you to examine withparticular care, also in your own interest, the factual correctness of the contents of your manuscript once it has
been copyedited and returned to you in the form of galley proofs. The responsibility for the correctness of dataand statements made in the manuscript rests entirely with the author.
Definition of Authorship
Authorship credit should be based on criteria established by the International Committee of Medical Journal
Editors. Each author should have made the following contributions towards the completion of the manuscript:
1.
2.
3.

Substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data
Drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content
Final approval of the version to be published

Copyright Statement
Submitted manuscripts must represent original research not previously published nor being considered for
publication elsewhere. The editors and Thieme combat plagiarism, double publication, and scientific misconduct
with the software CrossCheck powered by iThenticate. Your manuscript may be subject to an investigation andretraction if plagiarism is suspected.
If you plan to reproduce text, tables, or figures from a published source, you must first obtain written permission
from the copyright holder (usually the publisher). This is required even if the material is from your own
published work. For material never before published and given to you by another person, you must obtain
permission from that person. Serious delays to publication can be incurred if permissions are not obtained.
As the author, it is your responsibility to obtain all permissions, pay any permission fees, furnish copies of
permissions to Thieme with your manuscript, and include a credit line at the end of the figure caption, beneaththe table, or in a text footnote.
Articles are published under the “CC-BY 4.0” license. This means that everyone is free to copy, distribute andtransmit the published article. The full text of the license can be found athttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Statement of Ethics
This journal adheres to the ethical standards described by the Committee on Publication Ethics and theInternational Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Authors are expected to adhere to these standards.
For all manuscripts reporting data from studies involving human or animal participants, formal review andapproval, or formal review and waiver (exemption), by an appropriate institutional review board (IRB) or ethics
committee is required, as well as any necessary HIPAA consent, and should be described in the Methods section
with the full name of the reviewing entity. All clinical trials must be registered in a public trials registry. Denote
the registry and registry number.

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Patient Permission Policy and Thieme GDPR Policy
You must obtain a signed patient permission form for every patient whose recognizable photograph will be used.
If you do not supply this, the identity of the patient must be obscured before the image is published; this could
interfere with the instructive value of the photograph.
The personal rights of people who are recognizable on images must be protected. Please provide a writtenconsent form for publication signed by every recognizable person. For persons under 18 years of age / persons
supervised, please provide the signature of both parents / the legal guardian / supervisor. A suitable declarationof consent form can be obtained in our authors' lounge. Patient permission forms are availableat www.thieme.com/journal-authors
We cannot accept or store illustrations in which personal data of third parties are included. Please submit images
in completely anonymous form, free of personal data only! Such data may not only be directly visible in theimage (e.g., a patient name or a date of birth in an X-ray image); they can also be included in the metadata of theimage, which is accessible with the appropriate software. They may also be obscured by a cropping feature (suchas PowerPoint or Word), but can be made visible underneath. If you have questions about data protection
regulations, please contact us before submitting your manuscript.

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EDITORIAL CONTACTS
Please contact the Editors or Thieme Publishers with any questions.
Thieme Publishers – Managing Editor
Dr. Elinor Switzer
tsj@thieme.com
Thieme Publishers – Production Editor
Bhanu Priya Budhraja
Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Private Limited
A-12, Second Floor, Sector 2
Noida - 201 301
India
Bhanupriya.Budhraja@thieme.in

Last Updated: January 202413