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Author Resources
  
Instructions for Authors

The goal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery� is to inform readers about significant developments in all areas related to reconstructive and cosmetic surgery.

Significant papers on any aspect of plastic surgery�original clinical or laboratory research, operative procedures, comprehensive reviews, cosmetic surgery�as well as selected ideas and innovations, letters, viewpoints, and video plus articles are invited for publication.

SUBMISSION OF MANUSCRIPTS

All new manuscripts for consideration need to be submitted online through PRS� Editorial Manager at: http://www.editorialmanager.com/prs/. Authors must have an e-mail address at which they may be reached. We recommend adding [email protected] to your contacts to avoid missing any correspondence.

Contact Us:
Kevin C. Chung, M.D.
Editor-in-Chief

Phone: 469-801-4400
Email: [email protected]

EDITORIAL POLICIES

Decisions concerning editing, revision, acceptance, or rejection of any manuscript are made by the Editor based on the reviews of the associate editors and guest reviewers. Editing may include shortening an article, reducing the number of illustrations or tables, or changing the paper’s format. Accepted articles may appear with an invited written or video discussion, CPT Coding column, Psychosocial Insights column, or outcomes, safety, Journal Club, hot topics designations if the Editor so desires.

Ethical Approval of Studies/Informed Consent

Authors of manuscripts that describe experimental studies on either humans or animals must supply to the Editor a statement that the study was approved by an institutional review committee or ethics committee and that the subjects gave informed consent. Such approval should be described in the Methods section of the manuscript. In addition, for studies conducted with human subjects, the method by which informed consent was obtained from the participants (i.e., verbal or written) also needs to be stated in the Methods section.

In those situations where a formal institutional review board process is not available, the authors must indicate that the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki have been followed. More information regarding the Declaration of Helsinki can be found at http://www.wma.net/en/30publications/10policies/b3/ (Web site last accessed on December 9, 2014).

Registering Clinical Trials

Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery strongly encourages all articles reporting results of clinical trials to be registered in a public trials registry that is in conformity with the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). All clinical trials, regardless of when they were completed, and secondary analyses of original clinical trials should be registered before submission of a manuscript based on the trial. Phase I trials designed to study pharmacokinetics or major toxicity are exempt. Registering your trial is easy, free of charge, and helps promote science among a wide range of researchers.

Manuscripts reporting on clinical trials (as defined above) should indicate that the trials are registered and include the registry information on a separate page, immediately following the authors’ financial disclosure information. Required registry information includes trial registry name, registration identification number, and the URL for the registry.

Trials should be registered in one of the following trial registries:

More information on registering clinical trials can be found in the following article: Rohrich RJ, Longaker MT. Registering clinical trials in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2007;119(3):1097-1099.

Manuscripts containing original material are accepted for consideration if neither the article nor any part of its essential substance, tables, or figures has been or will be published or submitted elsewhere before appearing in the Journal (in part or in full, in other words or in the same words, in English or in another language), and will not be submitted elsewhere unless rejected by the Journal or withdrawn by the author. If an author violates this requirement or engages in similar misconduct, the Journal’s Editorial Board may reject the manuscript or impose a moratorium on acceptance of new manuscripts from the author. If it deems the misconduct sufficiently serious, the Editorial Board can refer the matter for investigation to the author’s academic institution or hospital, to the appropriate state or local disciplinary body, and/or to the Ethics Committee of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

Compliance with NIH and Other Research Funding Agency Accessibility Requirements

A number of research funding agencies now require or request authors to submit the post-print (the article after peer review and acceptance but not the final published article) to a repository that is accessible online by all without charge. As a service to our authors, LWW will identify to the National Library of Medicine (NLM) articles that require deposit and will transmit the post-print of an article based on research funded in whole or in part by the National Institutes of Health, Wellcome Trust, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, or other funding agencies to PubMed Central. The revised Copyright Transfer Agreement provides the mechanism.

All published material becomes the sole property of the Journal, copyrighted by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. By submitting an article, letter to the Editor, or brief communication, all authors agree to each of these conditions.

By signing the PRS eCTA (electronic Copyright Transfer Agreement), aka electronic author forms, you are transferring copyright of figures, tables, videos, and the content of the manuscript to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. If you do not wish to - or cannot - transfer copyright of some or all of your content, please indicate this in the eCTA and contact the Editorial Office at [email protected]. Proper copyright language, indications, and permissions documentation will have to be provided for each item on which copyright is retained by the authors or by a third party (independent illustrator, original publisher, etc).

Successfully revising a manuscript does not guarantee acceptance.

The Editor-in-Chief maintains the right to submit accepted manuscripts to further reviews, revisions, and possible change of status based on potential LEGAL, ETHICAL, and BIOSTATISTICAL ISSUES which become evident prior to publication. This may result in the article being further revised or even withdrawn from publication entirely at any point during the publication process.

Research Guidelines and Summary Rejection
Due to an increasing number of submissions, all manuscripts undergo a cursory review by the Editor-in-Chief and are subject to rejection without peer review. While summary rejections are issued at the Editor’s full discretion, some reasons for summary rejection may include: lack of new or innovative information, small sample size, lack of clearly defined purpose, or similar studies recently accepted or published.

In addition, the following guidelines will be enforced to ensure the publication of high-quality research:

  • Survey Studies:

    • Survey studies with a response rate of more than 20% are preferred.

    • Survey studies with a response rate less than 20% will be sent back to the authors without peer review unless they include supporting data and statements that justify why the sample most likely represents the broader population of interest.

    • To determine whether the sample represents the population of interest, investigators should perform and provide a non-responder analysis to compare known variables between those who did and those who did not respond. This will indicate whether a non-response bias is present. The Editor-in-Chief will review the justification documents; neither full peer-review nor acceptance are guaranteed. Download: “Example non-responder analysis.

        • Variables to consider for non-responder analysis:

          • Type of practice (Academic practice vs Group practice vs Solo practice)

          • Demographic of practice (Cosmetic vs Reconstructive)

          • Gender (Male vs Female)

          • Years of experience (years in practice)

          • U.S. region (West, South, Northeast, Midwest)

          • Age of responders vs non-responders

        • Non-responder analysis inclusion protocols:

          • Format the analysis document as in this example.

            • Include a 2-4 sentence summary of the data, justifying the <20% response rate

          • Include the analysis in your manuscript for peer-review and potential publication as “Supplemental Digital Content”

            • Upload the analysis as part of the manuscript’s file inventory as “Supplemental Digital Content”

            • Follow “SDC Materials Citation Guidelines,” also found in this Instructions for Authors

          • Authors may include additional lessons learned from the non-responder analysis in the text of their manuscript as needed.

    • ASPS Member Survey Research Services

      • ASPS members, candidates for ASPS membership, and non-members of ASPS may submit requests to survey the ASPS membership at any time during the calendar year.

      • All survey submissions will be objectively reviewed by ASPS leadership to determine suitability.

      • Survey requests will be reviewed three times per year - in April, July, and October.

      • ASPS charges a one-time fee of $2,000 for all selected survey collaborations.

      • Learn more | Apply

  • Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses:
    Systematic reviews or meta-analyses that include ≤10 papers will be rejected without review. Manuscripts that review more than 10 papers but have uncertain conclusions (e.g., fatal heterogeneity of data, conclusions state that data are limited and better studies need to be done) will likely be rejected.

  • Large Database Research:
    Database studies with unclear impact statements or minimal clinical or scientific implications will be rejected. In addition, manuscripts that are heavily derivative of projects done in other fields will likely be rejected.

  • Education and Training Studies:
    Papers with poor methodology or those that lack a control group, specific goals, or focus may be rejected without review.

  • Letters to the Editor and Viewpoints:
    Beginning on October 1 2021, PRS will be solely accepting and publishing Letters-to-the-Editor and Viewpoints that advance the scientific conversation or are otherwise deemed meaningful by the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Editor. Submissions of these short article types that do not meet these criteria as determined by the Editor-in-Chief or Co-Editor will be subject to summary rejection. In lieu of merely cordial or non-impactful Letters-to-the-Editor, we encourage readers to contact the authors directly utilizing the published correspondence information.

Much of this policy is adapted from the article “Common Fallacies in Designing a Research Project: Guidance Principles” (Plast Reconstr Surg. 2019;144:1247–1253). Please review this article to learn more about the Journal’s research guidelines and recommendations.

Cascading Peer Review

PRS utilizes a ‘cascading peer review method’ whereby manuscripts not acceptable for PRS, but deemed suitable for the American Society of Plastic Surgeon’s Open Access journal PRS Global Open will automatically be considered for publication in PRS Global Open. Authors of such manuscripts will receive an email indicating the decision to not accept the article in PRS and an offer to automatically transfer the manuscript to the PRS Global Open editorial system. Authors will be able to click a link to ‘accept’ or ‘decline’ this offer; If ‘accept’ is clicked, the article will be automatically transferred and resubmitted to PRS Global Open’s Editorial Manager (www.editorialmanager.com/gox). Direct submissions to PRS Global Open are welcomed on that Journal’s Editorial Manager homepage: www.editorialmanager.com/gox

Additional Peer Review Policies

The peer review process is handled entirely electronically via PRS's Editorial Manager. Peer reviewers are instructed to review the contents of the submission in a critical, unbiased, and timely fashion. They review all pieces of the submission, including the manuscript itself as well as videos, tables, and images.

The Editor-in-Chief is excluded from managing the peer review process for any manuscript that includes the Editor-in-Chief as an author or otherwise comes from his institution. The Co-Editor performs the necessary duties in these instances.

Authors may suggest reviewers for their manuscripts, but there is no guarantee that the Editor-in-Chief will select any to serve on the review panel.

PRS currently utilizes the single-blind method of peer reviewing.

Read more: PRS Editorial, Legal, and Ethical Policies.

E-articles

The Editor-in-Chief has the discretion to select some articles to publish online as e-articles. The e-article designation is not an indicator of quality or preference.� Each month, all Letters, Replies, Viewpoints, and the CME article, as well as randomly selected articles in the issue, are published as e-pages. The CME and any non-Letter or -Viewpoint article have corresponding �teaser� pages in print. E-articles are assigned at random based on the table of contents order; any accepted or published article may be considered for e-article publication in an issue of PRS without author notification.

Written and Video Discussions

Expert written or video discussions are solicited at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief based on criteria including but not limited to the parent article�s status as a hot topic, a study of unique interest to the field or the public, or a controversial subject area. PRS protocols do not include notifying authors that a discussion has been solicited or accepted on their manuscript. The Editor-in-Chief has the discretion to request such discussions or counterpoints from editorial board members, members of the peer review panel, or other subject experts. Discussion authors that served on the peer review panel are only allowed to base their discussion on the accepted manuscript; they are barred from commenting on any previous iterations of the study as presented through the iterative editorial process.

We do not allow letters to the editor regarding solicited discussions or allow for counter-counter point on discussions, except in infrequent instances at the Editor-in-Chief�s discretion. PRS does request reply letters based on unsolicited letters to the editors regarding published manuscripts.

Preprint Policy
Manuscripts submitted to PRS Journals should not have been published previously in print or electronic format.

Public dissemination or posting of manuscripts prior to, simultaneous with, or after submission to this Journal, such as posting the paper on preprint servers or other repositories, will require the Editor to make a determination of whether publishing this submitted manuscript will add sufficient new information to the medical literature or will be duplicative with information already published on the preprint server or similar medium. Given the Journals� duplicate submission policy, if the preprint is found to be largely similar to the PRS Journals submission, the editors will decline the opportunity to consider the submission without prejudice. At the time of submission, authors should notify the Editor of any prior postings or publications (print or electronic) of this article. Authors must provide related active links to or copies of any preprint postings.

Duplicate Submissions/Publications
Manuscripts containing original material are accepted for consideration if neither the article nor any part of its essential substance, tables, or figures has been or will be published or submitted elsewhere before appearing in the Journal (in part or in full, in other words or in the same words, in English or in another language), and will not be submitted elsewhere unless rejected by the Journal or withdrawn by the author. Simultaneous submissions of the same article to multiple journals are prohibited.

Although there are occasional legitimate purposes for multiple manuscripts drawn from the same study, by and large this practice- also known as �Salami Slicing�- is a publishing ethics violation and is prohibited. If you feel that the broken-up pieces of a single study have different hypotheses, populations, methods, etc, then you MUST cite all additional studies and discuss this openly in the cover letter and in the body of the manuscript itself. In general, we urge all authors to avoid inappropriately breaking up data from a single study into two or more papers.

Be transparent when submitting. Send copies of any closely related manuscripts to the Editor-in-Chief. This includes any manuscripts that are being considered by another journal, published by another journal, or published by a preprint server or other entity.

If an author violates these requirements or engages in similar misconduct, the Journal's Editorial Board may reject the manuscript or impose a moratorium on acceptance of new manuscripts from the author. If it deems the misconduct sufficiently serious, the Editorial Board can refer the matter for investigation to the author's academic institution or hospital, to the appropriate state or local disciplinary body, and/or to the Ethics Committee of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

Multi-Part Papers
PRS does not consider multi-part papers for publication (i.e., Part 1, Part 2). Because all manuscripts are reviewed individually, there is no guarantee that all parts would be accepted or published together. To ensure that all studies are reviewed and (if accepted) published in their entirety, the Editor may request that multi-part papers be combined into one manuscript.

NECESSARY FILES FOR ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION ON PRS’ Editorial Manager

  • Cover Letter

  • Title Page

  • Manuscript

  • Figure(s) (when appropriate)

  • Table(s) (when appropriate)

  • Patient Photographic Authorization and Release form (when appropriate)

  • electronic Copyright Transfer Agreement (aka electronic author forms)
    In addition, each author must complete and submit the Journal�s copyright transfer agreement, which includes a section on the disclosure of potential conflicts of interest based on the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, �Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals� (www.icmje.org/update.html).

    A copy of the form is made available to the submitting author within the Editorial Manager submission process. Co-authors will automatically receive an e-mail with instructions on completing the form upon submission.

  • Any necessary Permission letters (Typically for reprinted materials i.e. figures, tables, etc.)

Note: The above items should be prepared as separate files. Each file MUST contain a file extension (.doc, .tif, .eps, etc.).

  • File formats appropriate for text and table submissions include: Word, WordPerfect, and RTF.

  • File formats appropriate for figure submissions include: TIFF, EPS, and PNG high-resolution JPEG, or PDF. (On occasion the editorial office may ask you to provide your original source files if the figures do not meet publication standards.)

ONLINE MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION

First-Time Users: Please click the Register button and enter the requested information. Upon successful registration, you will be sent an e-mail indicating your user name and password. Print a copy of this information for future reference. NOTE: If you have received an e-mail from us with an assigned user ID and password, or if you are a repeat user, do not register again. Just log in. Once you have an assigned ID and password, you do not need to re-register, even if we add a new role to your account (such as reviewer, editorial board).

MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION

Authors are required to submit their manuscripts online through PRS’ Editorial Manager at: http://www.editorialmanager.com/prs/. Manuscripts not sent via the Editorial Manager system will not be processed. We are unable to accept the submission through email. All submission materials must be uploaded by the authors to ensure proper display and delivery.

NOTE: Manuscripts that do not conform to the following regulations may be returned to the author for correction before being sent for peer review and at any point in the editorial process.

General

All copy must be double-spaced, including text, footnotes, references, figure legends, and tables. Each manuscript page must be numbered clearly, with the numbering continuing throughout.

All references, figures, and tables must be numbered and must be cited in numerical order in the text. Citations of figures and tables show the printer where to place them in the text.

If a statistical analysis is done, explanation of the method used must be stated in the text preceding the results. Unusual or complex methods of analysis should be referenced. Most papers that include statistical analyses are evaluated by a biostatistician during the review process.

Manuscript Length/Number of Figures

To enhance quality, readability and to be more competitive with other leading scientific journals, all manuscripts must now conform to the new word-count standards for article length and limited number of figure pieces:

  • Original Articles, Experimental Articles and Special Topics/Comprehensive Reviews are limited to 3000 words and 20 figure pieces and/or tables.

  • Ideas & Innovations and Follow-up Clinics are limited to 1000 words and 4 figure pieces and/or tables.

  • Video Plus articles are limited to 1000 words, 4 figure pieces, and/or tables, and up to 20 minutes of video broken into smaller clips of no more than 100 MB in size. Videos for this article type must be narrated.

  • Letters and Viewpoints are limited to 500 words, 2 figure pieces and/or tables, and 5 references.

  • Obituaries* are limited to 1000 words and 2 figure pieces maximum.
  • *NOTE: BEGINNING JANUARY 1, 2022, PRS WILL NO LONGER ACCEPT OBITUARY SUBMISSIONS.

    We advise that all obituaries be submitted to Plastic Surgery News (PSN), where they can better reach the intended audience in a timelier manner. PSN accepts member-written obituaries for ASPS colleagues, members and friends of up to 800 words. Copy is subject to editing to meet PSN guidelines, but authors will have the chance to review internal edits before publication. Please direct obituaries to Paul Snyder:
    [email protected].

Article Type

Abstract/Summary Words

Body Words

References

Figure Pieces/ Tables

Video

·Original Article

·Experimental

·Special topic

250 words

3000 words

No limit

20

Up to 20 minutes;
each clip <5 minutes. No more than 8 video clips total.

·Ideas & Innovations

·Follow-up Clinics

250 words

1000 words

No limit

4

Up to 20 minutes;
each clip <5 minutes. No more than 8 video clips total.

·Letters/ Replies
·Viewpoints

NA

500 words

5 references

2

With no other SDC: up to 9 minutes, broken into no more than 3 clips.

With other SDC: up to 6 minutes, broken into no more than 2 clips

·Video Plus

250

1000 words

No limit

4

Up to 20 minutes, broken into smaller clips. Must be narrated. No more than 8 video clips total.

·Obituaries

NOTE: BEGINNING 1/1/2022, OBITUARY SUBMISSIONS WILL NO LONGER BE ACCEPTED

NA

1000 words

5 references

2

NA

PLEASE NOTE: Figure pieces are individual images within a figure – so a figure with a pre-op picture and a post-op photo contains TWO figure pieces that count against your total limit.

*NOTICE Regarding Supplemental Digital Content (including Videos):

Beginning March 1, 2022, submissions to PRS must adhere to the following limits for Supplemental Digital Content/Videos:

Original, Experimental, and Special Topic submissions:

10 SDC items total with a maximum of 8 video clips

Example:

4 5-minute video clips with metrics above

6 SDC tables

 

Ideas & Innovations & Follow-up Clinics submissions:

8 SDC items total with a maximum of 5 video clips

 

Video Plus submissions:

8 SDC items total

*Notes regarding video:

  • Any video clip over 30 seconds in length must have English-language Narration or Subtitles

  • Each video clip must be submitted under 100 MB in size and in MP4 formatting.

  • For all article types, video clips should not exceed 5 minutes in length.

*Notes regarding tables:

Tables cannot include photographs. Tables that do include photographs will be processed as figures. In some instances, tables can include small graphics including shapes or simple line drawings. These are considered on a case-by-case basis.

Articles not meeting the above standards will be returned to the author until the article meets the policies for their selected article type.

Permissions/Consents

A letter of permission is required for any and all material that has been published previously, or for which the authors do not own the copyright. It is the responsibility of the author to request permission from the publisher (or owner of the copyrighted item) for any material that is being reproduced. This requirement applies to text, illustrations, photos, and tables.

Authors are also required to obtain written releases from any person whose photographs are submitted to the Journal for publication if the person can be identified. A standardized patient authorization form for the release of patient photographs as well as a general consent form (for doctors, nurses, etc.) may be printed from our site.

If an author chooses to use his or her own version for patient authorization, the form must include permission to use photographs for all types of media including but not limited to the following: print, visual, electronic, or broadcast media. Also, details in text that might identify patients should be avoided unless essential for scientific purposes. If identification of patients is unavoidable, informed consents should be obtained. Please note all consent forms should be in English.

  • Photographs with bars placed over the eyes of patients are not allowed. Patient authorization and permission is needed to reproduce any photograph of a patient's face or identifiable body part.

  • If "de-identification" of a patient is not possible from cropping, the authors need to obtain authorization and consent from the patient. If the patient cannot be located or refused to provide consent and authorization, the photograph will not be published.

  • In the event that the patient cannot provide consent due to death or legal incompetency (this includes photographs of corpses), permission from the power of attorney is needed as well as proof of power of attorney.

Authorship

Any clinical manuscripts (the subjects of which are humans, not experimental papers, or manuscripts that have clinical implications or applications) must have as their first and corresponding author a practicing physician(s). Coauthors from industry can certainly be included on a paper, but the corresponding author who takes ultimate senior responsibility on the paper must be a practicing clinical physician.

Definition of ‘author’/Excessive Authorship: According to the International Committee on Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), an author is defined as one who has made substantive intellectual contribution to the development of a manuscript. The ICMJE guidelines state that “authorship credit should be based on 1) substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; 2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; 3) final approval of the version to be published; 4) Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. Authors should meet conditions 1, 2, 3, and 4.” Authors of PRS articles must meet all four criteria of authorship.

If more than 10 authors are listed for any given manuscript, it will be sent back to the Corresponding Author. Overage should be relocated to the “Acknowledgment” section of the manuscript. Special exceptions to this rule can be sought via special request to the Editor-in-Chief via the Editorial Office.

If you wish to request to have between 11 and 20 authors, please contact the Editorial Office ([email protected]). The Editor-in-Chief will consider your request after you have filled out a form in which all authors attest and sign that they have fulfilled all 4 conditions of authorship. Manuscripts with more than 20 authors will not be considered for publication at this time. DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP FORM

Post-submission Changes in Authorship: After the initial submission of a manuscript, any changes whatsoever in authorship (adding author(s), deleting author(s), or re-arranging the order of authors) must be explained by a letter to the Editor from the authors concerned. This letter must be signed by all authors on the paper, including any that may have been removed.

Copyright assignment must be completed by every author. This can be done via the ‘author forms.’

Title Page

The title page includes the complete title of the article; a separate list of authors’ names spelled out with middle initials and highest academic degrees (please list in the following order: first name, middle initial, last or family name. i.e. John R. Smith); a list indicating each author’s affiliations and city; a footnote listing meetings at which the paper has been presented; and a short running head (no more than 40 characters in length).

Please use this template to created your title page for your manuscript. If your manuscript is selected to run ahead of print as a “PRS Online First” manuscript, it will be advanced online to accelerate publication and, therefore, will not have undergone copyediting or proofing yet. Author names will be published exactly as they appear in the title page; if the template is not followed and the article is selected for PRS Online First Publication, we cannot guarantee proper presentation of the last name. If there is any confusion as to first name and last/family name, please make it abundantly clear in the author list as to the family name by bolding it or other means. PRS Online First publications are replaced on our website and on PubMed when the final, proofed version is published; so authors do have an opportunity at proof stage to correct any errors.

Academic Degrees for Authors

Please limit the total number of academic degrees to a maximum of three (3).

Corresponding Author Contact Information Page

The second page should contain the complete name and address of the corresponding author, or the author who is responsible for handling reprints. This information must include an e-mail address.

Financial Disclosure and Products Page

On the third page of the manuscript, all sources of funds supporting the work and a statement of financial interest, if any, must be included for each author, along with a list of all products, devices, drugs, etc., used in the manuscript. All manuscripts must have all of this information.

Each author must disclose at the time of submission any commercial associations or financial disclosures that might pose or create a conflict of interest with information presented in any submitted manuscript. Such associations include consultancies, stock ownership, or other equity interests, patent licensing arrangements, and payments for conducting or publicizing a study described in the manuscript. Authors must disclose any funding received for this work from any of the following organizations: National Institutes of Health (NIH); Wellcome Trust; Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI); and other(s). This information will be printed with the article.

Structured Abstract Page

Original articles and Experimental studies must begin with a structured abstract. The abstract should include the headings: Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusions. We encourage potential authors to look at recent issues of the Journal for examples of similar articles. Special Topics and Ideas and Innovations articles should begin with a summary. The length for abstracts and summaries should be no more than 250 words.

Levels of Evidence

All manuscripts amenable to Level of Evidence grading will be assessed and have a clinical question and LOE grade assigned by a special, independent panel at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons headquarters. We no longer request that you provide an initial indication of clinical question or level of evidence. The final Level of Evidence grade for accepted papers will be determined and assigned by the independent panel of Level of Evidence experts.

The following types of articles are not gradable for level of evidence:

  • Animal studies

  • Economic Studies

  • Basic science studies

  • Review articles

  • Instructional course lectures

  • CME courses

  • Editorials

  • Correspondence

As far as what is or is not ratable, the standard is to exclude basic science, bench work, and animal studies because the information gained from these studies is not something that can be applied directly to patient treatment decisions. See the article "The Level of Evidence Pyramid: Indicating Levels of Evidence in PRS Articles" in the July 2011 issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery for more information.

The clinical question will be one of three categories: Diagnostic, Therapeutic, or Risk.

American Society of Plastic Surgeons Rating Levels of Evidence and Grading Recommendations

Evidence Rating Scale for Therapeutic Studies

Level of Evidence

Qualifying Studies

I

High-quality, multicenter or single-center randomized controlled trial with adequate power; or systematic review of these studies

II

Lesser-quality randomized controlled trial; prospective cohort study; or systematic review of randomized controlled trials

III

Retrospective cohort or comparative study; or case-control study

IV

Case series with pre/post test or only post test

V

Expert opinion developed via consensus process; case report or clinical example; or evidence based on physiology, bench research, or “first principles”

Evidence Rating Scale for Diagnostic Studies

Level of Evidence

Qualifying Studies

I

High-quality, multicenter or single-center cohort study validating a diagnostic test (with “gold” standard as reference) in a series of consecutive patients

II

Exploratory cohort study developing diagnostic criteria (with “gold” standard as reference) in a series of consecutive patients

III

Diagnostic study in nonconsecutive patients (without consistently applied “gold” standard as reference)

IV

Case-control study; or any of the above diagnostic studies in the absence of a universally accepted “gold” standard

V

Expert opinion developed via consensus process; case report or clinical example; or evidence based on physiology, bench research, or “first principles”

Evidence Rating Scale for Prognostic/Risk Studies

Level of Evidence

Qualifying Studies

I

High-quality, multicenter or single-center prospective cohort or comparative study with adequate power

II

Lesser-quality prospective cohort or comparative study; retrospective cohort or comparative study; or untreated controls from a randomized controlled trial

III

Case-control study

IV

Case series with pre/post test or only post test

V

Expert opinion developed via consensus process; case report or clinical example; or evidence based on physiology, bench research, or “first principles”

Text

The body of the text must conform to acceptable English usage and syntax; the contents must be clear, accurate, coherent, and logical. Avoid using abbreviations unless they are so common that they are never spelled out. The Journal aims for optimal readability.

Following the references, figure legends and tables, with complete credit lines for material that has been published previously, must be listed on separate pages. All figure legends and tables must be double-spaced. Figures and tables must be cited in numerical order in the text.

Invited Discussions of accepted manuscripts are frequently requested by the Editors. The preparation of Discussions is the same as for all other articles. The title page for a Discussion should include the title of the original article and the words “Discussion by” followed by the author or authors of the Discussion.

All Letters to the Editor must be double-spaced. The title of your letter should be identical to the title of the published article being discussed. If it is not, the Publisher reserves the right to alter the title accordingly. The title must appear at the beginning of the correspondence; a complete reference must be given for any article that is being discussed, and should be the first reference listed; all authors must be listed at the end, followed by the complete address of the corresponding author; and references must be prepared in the appropriate style. The Journal will only consider Letters to the Editor if they are received within 2 full months after an article's publication date.

SUPPLEMENTAL DIGITAL CONTENT (VIDEOS, ETC)

Online-only Materials:
We highly encourage authors to submit supplementary materials that enhance their article’s text to be considered for online-only posting. This material will appear as a link in your article text, where indicated. Please make obvious notes on the cover letter and in the details section of your manuscript that you are submitting video or another form of Supplemental Digital Content in conjunction with your article. Supplementary materials may include the following types of content:

  • text documents

  • graphs

  • tables

  • figures

  • graphics

  • illustrations

  • audio

  • video

Please note: any video submission over 30 seconds in length must contain English-language subtitles or narration.

All online-only materials will be subject to peer review and published at the Editor-in-Chief’s discretion. The Supplemental Digital Content feature of PRS will not be used merely as a receptacle and vehicle for superfluous materials. Please choose these materials judiciously and make sure they are demonstrative and necessary rather than excessive and redundant.

Supplemental Digital Content Limitations:
While we encourage you to submit Supplemental Digital Content, please note that the SDC program is not meant to be a repository for unfiltered, unrefined data. The SDC is an extension of your manuscript itself and, therefore, should be as polished and edited as your manuscript itself. For this reason, PRS has adopted limitations on Supplemental Digital Content. These limitations are not meant to limit your article’s impact, but meant to challenge you to be judicious and self-editing in choosing which materials to place online.

Your SDC may include a combination of the following material, for a maximum of 8 total SDC files:

  • PowerPoint presentations: The author may submit no more than 20 slides as SDC to their article.

  • Figures: Authors may submit additional figures as SDC for their article. All figures must be fully assembled by the authors. Each figure file should be uploaded as a separate piece of SDC.

  • Tables: Authors may submit additional tables as SDC. Each table should be uploaded as a separate piece of SDC.

  • Word Document: Authors may submit one Word document of no more than 500 words of supplementary text.

  • Appendices: Authors may submit no more than 5 double-spaced pages total of appendices as SDC. This should be ancillary content only (copies of questionnaires, forms, etc.) and should not include written content that should be included in the main body of the manuscript.

  • SDC LIMITS for LETTERS, REPLIES, and VIEWPOINTS
    • SDC (without video):
      • No more than 4 SDC files total (can include a figure, PDF, PPT, etc.)
    • Video Only (no additional SDC)
      • Up to 9 minutes of video; no more than 3 clips
    • Video + additional SDC
      • Up to 6 minutes of video; no more than 2 clips
      • AND

      • No more than TWO additional SDC files total (can include a figure, PDF, PPT, etc.)
  • NOTES:

    • NO SDC text will be edited by PRS’ staff. Submit it exactly as intended to be displayed.

    • PPTs or PDFs submitted as SDC will NOT be edited by staff.

    • No errata will be written for SDC content.

*NOTICE Regarding Supplemental Digital Content (including Videos):

Beginning March 1, 2022, submissions to PRS must adhere to the following limits for Supplemental Digital Content:

Original, Experimental, and Special Topic submissions:

10 SDC items total with a maximum of 8 video clips

Example:

4 5-minute video clips with metrics above

6 SDC tables

 

Ideas & Innovations & Follow-up Clinics submissions:

8 SDC items total with a maximum of 5 video clips

 

Video Plus submissions:

8 SDC items total

SDC Materials Citation Guidelines:
When utilizing supplementary digital content in your manuscript:

  • Cite all supplementary content consecutively in the text and independently from any figures or tables.

  • All Online-only Materials, no matter the type, should be listed and labeled consecutively “Supplemental Digital Content”

    • Example of separate numbering for all SD Content:

      • Video, Supplemental Digital Content 1

      • Table, Supplemental Digital Content 2

      • Figure, Supplemental Digital Content 3

      • Meanwhile, you will still have Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3, Table 1, Table 2, etc.

  • Citations should include the type of material submitted, be clearly labeled as “Supplemental Digital Content,” include a sequential number, and provide a brief description of the supplementary content.

    • Example of a citation within text: (see Video, Supplemental Digital Content 1, which demonstrates the degrees of flexibility in the elbow)

  • Provide a separate legend of online supplementary materials at the end of the text. List each item in the order in which the material is cited in the text. The legends must be numbered to match the citations from the text. Include a title and a brief description of the content. The editorial office reserves the right to revise or request revisions to your SDC legends and call outs to improve and preserve the readers� experience.

SDC Size & File Type Requirements:
Authors may submit online-only supplementary files no larger than 10 MB each (excluding videos).

    • Documents, graphs, and tables

      • Acceptable file extensions: .doc, .ppt, .xls, .pdf

    • Figures, graphics, and illustrations

      • Acceptable file extensions: .tif, .eps, .ppt, .jpg, .pdf, .gif.

      • Must meet the same specifications as printed figures (see below)

      • No more than 10 online-only figure pieces will be allowed

    • Audio files

      • Acceptable file extensions: .mp3, .wma

      • No longer than 10 minutes in length

    • Video files (for Supplemental Digital Content [permalink] Videos)

      • Acceptable file extensions: .wmv, .mp4

      • Formatted with a screen size no smaller than 320 X 240 pixels

      • No longer than 5 minutes in length.

      • These are different from the stand-alone videos that appear in the video gallery. SDC video are typically short clips that do not stand on their own.

      • Any video submission over 30 seconds in length must have English-language Subtitles or Narration.

For more information, please review LWW’s requirements for submitting supplementary materials: http://edmgr.ovid.com/lww-final/accounts/SuppMaterialRequirements.doc

Stand-Alone Videos
PRS accepts high-quality, longer-format Videos which will play in our Video Gallery. These videos MUST be narrated Stand-Alone Videos, unlike Supplemental Digital Content Videos, will be presented in a progressive download format. For examples: http://journals.lww.com/plasreconsurg/Pages/videogallery.aspx.

Please limit Stand-Alone submissions to superb independent content. If the long-format video seems to supplement written article content more so than stand alone as an independent contribution, please break the video into shorter Supplemental Digital Content Videos. If the video truly stands on its own, this is ideal for a Stand-Alone Video.

All Stand-Alone materials will be subject to peer review and published at the Editor-in-Chief’s discretion. The Editor-in-Chief retains the right to request that a Stand-Alone submission be broken into shorter clips and reconsidered as Supplemental Digital Content downloadable videos.

The following content types MUST comply with the dimension and file size requirement for Stand-Alone Video:

  • Video Discussions (solicited by Editor-in-Chief)

  • Stand-Alone Video File Requirements

    • Acceptable file extensions: .mp4

    • No smaller than 640 X 480 pixel screen size

    • Cannot be any larger than 100 MB

    • No longer than 20 minutes in length

    • Stand-alone content preferred

FIGURES

Articles will contain no more than 20 figure pieces due to page constraints. Please note that each panel of a multi-panel figure is counted as one “figure piece.” For definition purposes, one figure containing a pre-op and a post-op counts as two figure pieces.

There is no charge to authors for color printing.

  • Authors are strongly encouraged to submit all figures in color, when appropriate. Authors who submit black and white figures may be requested to supply color replacement figures.

  • All immunohistochemistry slides and all pathology slides must be submitted in color. If such figures are submitted in black and white, authors will be requested to supply color replacement figures.

  • All figures need to be of the highest quality possible. Elements of quality figures include:

    • Color images, wherever possible and appropriate

    • Correct focus

    • Sufficient brightness and exposure for photographs

    • Sufficient detail for close-up photographs

    • Color correct images

    • Figures of sufficient size (see below)

    • Correct digital format

    • Appropriate and consistent preoperative and postoperative comparisons

Any figures submitted that do not meet the above standards will be sent back to the authors and new images will be requested. If better quality images are not supplied, figures may be removed from the manuscript, or moved to Supplemental Digital Content.

  • Multi-piece images (e.g., Fig. 1a, 1b, 1c) should be saved WITHOUT the letters super-imposed over the images, but rather have their file name saved as “Figure 1a”, Figure 1b” as well as having this indication typed in the description field of the upload menu.

  • The minimum size at which figures should be submitted is at a width of 6.5 inches (two “landscapes” or three “portraits” across), 5 inches (two “portraits” across, a graph, or images containing small text), or 3.5 inches (for a figure that will be placed in one column). Note: Figures smaller than this will be returned to authors in order for them to provide larger figures. We may ask for original source files to avoid issues that occur during the exporting process.

  • We can reduce the size of any figure as may be necessary, but most figures cannot be enlarged without an unacceptable loss of quality. When in doubt, submit a figure that is too large rather than too small.

  • No photographs, digital or otherwise, should be substantively modified other than light cropping to show the area intended.

  • The color mode for all images should be CMYK and the Resolution should be a minimum of 300 dpi. (For more information about digital artwork guidelines, please visit our printer’s Web site at: http://cpc.cadmus.com/da/.)

  • Illustrations should be labeled clearly. Illustrations should be arranged symmetrically, in either “portrait” or “landscape” orientation. Before-and-after photographs should be identical in terms of size, position, and lighting. All illustrations must be accompanied by figure legends, to be attached at the end of the manuscript. Figure legends should NOT be included in the image file itself.)

  • Bar graphs with various shades of black do not reproduce well. Please submit them in color.

  • To indicate scale on a photomicrograph, it is much better to include a scale bar as part of the figure, rather than to state the original magnification in the legend.

  • Remember to check spelling on figures and in tables as well as in the main text.

  • If you are exporting a graph from an uncommon software, please export as a high quality PDF file.

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION:

Please note that by signing the PRS eCTA (electronic Copyright Transfer Agreement), aka electronic author forms, you are transferring copyright of figures, tables, videos, and the content of the manuscript to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. If you do not wish to - or cannot - transfer copyright of some or all of your content, please indicate this in the eCTA and contact the Editorial Office at [email protected]. Proper copyright language, indications, and permissions documentation will have to be provided for each item on which copyright is retained by the authors or by a third party (independent illustrator, original publisher, etc).

Creating Digital Artwork

Please note that by signing the PRS eCTA (electronic Copyright Transfer Agreement), aka electronic author forms, you are transferring copyright of figures, tables, videos, and the content of the manuscript to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. If you do not wish to - or cannot - transfer copyright of some or all of your content, please indicate this in the eCTA and contact the Editorial Office at [email protected]. Proper copyright language, indications, and permissions documentation will have to be provided for each item on which copyright is retained by the authors or by a third party (independent illustrator, original publisher, etc).

Creating Digital Artwork

  1. Learn about the publication requirements for Digital Artwork: http://links.lww.com/ES/A42

  2. Create, scan, and save your artwork and compare your final figure to the Digital Artwork Guideline Checklist.

  3. Upload each figure to Editorial Manager in conjunction with your manuscript text and tables. They should not be copy and pasted into the body of your text.

Digital Artwork Guideline Checklist
The basics to have in place before submitting your digital art to PRS are delineated below:

  • Artwork should be saved as TIFF, PDF, JPG, EPS, or the file format from the originally program file it was created in. (PPT, DOC, XLS, etc.)

  • Artwork is created as the actual size (or slightly larger) it will appear in the journal. (To get an idea of the size images should be when they print, study a copy of the journal to which you wish to submit. Measure the artwork typically shown and scale your image to match.)

  • Crop out any white or black space surrounding the image. White space will not be counted in the figure size.

  • Diagrams, drawings, graphs, and other line art must be vector or saved at a resolution of at least 1200 dpi. If the art is created in an MS Office program, convert to a hi-res PDF. If the PDF creation process is unfamiliar, then submit the MS Office doc.

  • Photographs, radiographs, and other halftone images must be saved at a resolution of at least 300 dpi.

  • Photographs and radiographs with text must be saved as postscript or at a resolution of at least 600 dpi.

  • Each figure must be saved and submitted as a separate file. Figures should not be embedded in the manuscript text file.

To avoid errors during publication:

  • Call out figures consecutively in your manuscript.

  • Number figures in the figure legend in the order in which they are discussed.

  • Upload figures consecutively to the Editorial Manager Web site and number figures consecutively in the Description box during upload.

NOTE: Additional instructions for the Journal’s policies on Supplements, Discussions, references, SDC, and videos are available at the Journal’s Web site, www.PRSJournal.com.

English Language Assistance

Authors who are not native speakers of English who submit manuscripts to international journals often receive negative comments from referees or editors about the English–language usage in their manuscripts, and these problems can contribute to a decision to reject a paper. To help reduce the possibility of such problems, we encourage authors to consider seeking English-language revision assistance. There are many sources authors can turn to for such assistance, including partnering with a native English-speaking co-author and hiring third party author services firms. There are many firms authors can turn to; PRS does not recommend one firm over another, however we can confirm that Wolters Kluwer Author Services* is a trustworthy service provider.

Wolters Kluwer Author Services
Wolters Kluwer, in partnership with Editage, offers a unique range of editorial services to help you prepare a submission-ready manuscript:

  • Premium Editing: Intensive language and structural editing of academic papers to increase chances of journal acceptance.

  • Advanced Editing: A complete language, grammar, and terminology check to give you a publication-ready manuscript.

  • Translation with Editing: Write your paper in your native language and Wolters Kluwer Author Services will translate it into English, as well as edit it to ensure that it meets international publication standards.

  • Plagiarism Check: Helps ensure that your manuscript contains no instances of unintentional plagiarism.

  • Artwork Preparation: Save precious time and effort by ensuring that your artwork is viewed favorably by the journal without you having to incur the additional cost of purchasing special graphics software.

For more information regarding Wolters Kluwer Author Services, please visit http://wkauthorservices.editage.com.

*Note that the use of such a service is at the author's own expense and risk, and does not guarantee that the article will be accepted.

Manuscript Preparation Author Checklist

Copy this form or download from http://www.PRSJournal.com and www.editorialmanager.com/prs

Use this checklist to help you include all required elements of your submission.

  • Prepare manuscript following Instructions for Authors

  • Prepare all files necessary for submitting on PRS’ Editorial Manager electronic system

  • Cover letter to Editor with address, phone #, fax # and/or e-mail address of corresponding author

  • Title page, including

    • Complete title of article

    • List of authors, including first names and highest academic degrees

    • All authors’ affiliations and full financial disclosures listed

    • A footnote listing date(s) and site(s) of presentation (if applicable)

    • Name and address of corresponding author

    • Listing of each author's role/participation in the authorship of the manuscript on the manuscript (on a separate page in the manuscript)

    • Statement of institutional review board approval and/or statement of conforming to the Declaration of Helsinki

    • Clinical trial registration information provided: Name of trial database where registered, Registration number and date registered

  • Structured abstract for Original Articles and Experimental Articles

  • Summary for Special Topics and Ideas and Innovations

  • List of references

  • List of figure legends, including credit lines

  • Copies of signed patient release forms for the use of all photographs in which patients can be identified. Forms can be found at: www.PRSJournal.com

  • Tables, including credit lines

  • High-quality color figures, properly prepared according to the above guidelines

Any manuscript that does not include the items listed in this checklist may be returned to the corresponding author for additional information.

MANUSCRIPTS AFTER ACCEPTANCE

Once an author receives notice of acceptance, the manuscript is then placed into our accepted queue by section. The Editor-in-Chief will then selected the manuscript for an upcoming publication based on the acceptance date, the authors will be notified via email to let them know which issue their article was placed in

Manuscript Preparation

Once selected for an issue the article is prepared for publication by the Editorial Office. Prompt response to Editorial Office requests for additional information or improved figures is necessary to ensure timely publication. Delays in providing necessary additional information may result in publication delays.

Electronic Page Proofs and Corrections

Corresponding authors will receive electronic page proofs to check the copyedited and typeset article before publication. Portable document format (PDF) files of the typeset pages and support documents (e.g., reprint order form) will be sent to the corresponding author via e-mail. Complete instructions will be provided with the e-mail for downloading and marking the electronic page proofs. The corresponding author must provide an email address. The proof/correction process is done electronically.
It is the author's responsibility to ensure that there are no errors in the proofs. Authors who are not native English speakers are strongly encouraged to have their manuscript carefully edited by a native English-speaking colleague. Changes that have been made to conform to journal style will stand if they do not alter the authors' meaning. Only the most critical changes to the accuracy of the content will be made. Changes that are stylistic or are a reworking of previously accepted material will be disallowed. The publisher reserves the right to deny any changes that do not affect the accuracy of the content. Authors may be charged for alterations to the proofs beyond those required to correct errors or to answer queries. Electronic proofs must be checked carefully and corrections returned within 24 to 48 hours of receipt, as requested in the cover letter accompanying the page proofs.

Addition of authors at proof stage is not allowed.

Articles may be moved to another issue or encounter delays in publication as determined necessary by the publisher and Editorial Office. To the degree possible, corresponding authors will be contacted regarding any unforeseen delay in publication.

Reprints

Authors will receive an email notification with a link to the order form soon after their article publishes in the journal (https://shop.lww.com/author-reprint). Reprints are normally shipped 6 to 8 weeks after publication of the issue in which the item appears. Contact the Reprint Department, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 351 W. Camden Street, Baltimore, MD 21201; fax: 410-558-6234; email: [email protected] with any questions.

OPEN ACCESS POLICIES

PRS is a hybrid open access journal. We offer the option to publish original research articles (Original, Experimental, Special Topic) as open access. If an author chooses to exercise the open access option, whether by obligation to publicly funded bodies or by choice, his or her accepted article can be published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and made freely, openly available to all readers indefinitely. After the first round of peer review has concluded, the author will be presented with the option to choose open access. Before publication, the article processing charge would be paid. Once published, the article would be fully and permanently open to all readers on our Web site, PRSJournal.com. Articles that are open access are identified by the “open” icon.

It is worth noting the following:

* The peer review and production processes for open access articles published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery are identical to those for traditionally published articles.

* Authors of open access articles retain copyright to their content.

* Open access articles can be published ahead of print.

* Open access articles will be deposited into PubMed Central on the authors’ behalf by our publishers.

* Commercial reprints can be purchased for open access articles.

* Previously published articles can be made open access going forward if the author so desires.

* Open access articles and all related figures and tables have limited restrictions on permissions. Under the Creative Commons License, readers can disseminate and reuse the article for noncommercial purposes.

* Open access articles can be posted to personal Web site and/or institutional repositories.

* Only original, experimental, or special topic articles can be made open access.

To reiterate, the open access option will not be offered to authors until after the article has been peer reviewed. Authors will be given the option to publish their paper as open access when the article is sent back for revision. The extension of this option does not indicate that the article will be accepted following resubmission.

ARTICLE PROCESSING CHARGE”

Authors who opt for open access publication in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery will be asked to pay an article processing charge. Starting January 1, 2021, the charge to publish in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery is $3520 if the article is published under the Creative Commons License Attribution-Noncommerical No Derivative (CC-BY-NC-ND) license; it is $4270 if it is published under the Attribution 3.0 (CC-BY) license, which is required by Research Councils UK. These article processing charges are excluding tax/VAT. Any required taxes/VAT will be applied during the payment process. The intent of the article processing charge is not to make any profit; these funds cover administrative costs of peer review, expert copyediting, layout, typesetting, and hosting of the article as a PDF and full text on PRSJournal.com.

Compliance with NIH and Other Research Funding Agency Accessibility Requirements

A number of research funding agencies now require or request authors to submit the post-print (the article after peer review and acceptance but not the final published article) to a repository that is accessible online by all without charge. As a service to our authors, LWW will identify to the National Library of Medicine (NLM) articles that require deposit and will transmit the post-print of an article based on research funded in whole or in part by the National Institutes of Health, Wellcome Trust, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, or other funding agencies to PubMed Central. The revised Copyright Transfer Agreement provides the mechanism.

For more information, read “Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery: A Hybrid Open-Access Medical Journal” by Rohrich and Weinstein. Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery: July 2014 - Volume 134 - Issue 1 - p 165–167

ADDITIONAL SUPPLEMENT POLICIES
Full Supplement Policy

  1. All proposals for a supplement to Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery must be submitted to the Editorial Office. The Editorial Office will forward the proposals to the Supplements Editor, designated by the Editor of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

  2. The Supplements Editor, in consultation with the Editors, will decide upon the suitability of the submitted proposal. The initial decision to publish a supplement is based on the significance and timeliness of the proposed topic and the qualifications of the Guest Editor. Final acceptance is based on review of the submitted manuscripts to ensure a balanced presentation.

  3. Each supplement must have a Guest Editor who is an expert in the designated topic. The Guest Editor is responsible for: a) idea generation; b) creation of Tables of Contents; c) suggesting and inviting authors to write manuscripts for the supplement; d) compiling articles for inclusion in the supplement; and e) assisting with the editing of the publication if necessary.

  4. The Supplements Editor and the Editors of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery retain the right to determine whether any individual article in a supplement submitted for publication requires additional peer review. For disputed manuscripts the Editors retain authority to determine whether the final manuscript will be published. Individual authors are responsible for the content of their own contributions and for editing those contributions. The Guest Editor of the supplement accepts responsibility for the overall quality and integrity of the supplement.

  5. Supplement topics must be of importance to Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery subscribers and related to the academic and educational mission of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Priority will be given to supplements that do not focus on a single product but rather on a field of inquiry.

  6. Supplements will be published only if there is scientific or educational logic for combining papers in one publication rather than publishing them separately. The number and quality of the articles in the supplement must be sufficient to constitute a body of important information that is current and of interest to the clinical and scientific community.

  7. A supplement based on a conference or symposium should be planned well in advance of the meeting so that manuscripts will be available either at the time of the meeting or shortly thereafter. Timely publication of such symposia is essential so that the supplement is not out of date by the time of publication. To ensure timeliness, supplements may not be published if the date of publication will be more than 9 months after the symposium or conference.

  8. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery will only consider publishing proceedings from symposia that are organized by an independent body of professionals in which the funding organization does not have a controlling voice. It is preferable that the Guest Editor and a majority of the members of the independent body be members of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. All supplements must have a statement indicating the source of funding, together with any restrictions. Furthermore, the Guest Editor and all contributors must clearly indicate whether there is any conflict of interest and, if so, the extent and nature of the potential conflict.

  9. At submission, the supplement manuscript will be peer reviewed to assure that the content is not biased in the interest of any sponsor. All reviewers will be assigned by the Editor in Chief. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery will not permit presentations within the scientific and educational portion of the supplement that extol a commercial product. Publication of supplements does not constitute product or sponsor endorsement by Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, and the following (or similar) Disclaimer will be printed at the beginning of each supplement:

    “The contents of this issue represent a supplement to Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, prepared and paid for by the sponsoring organization. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery endeavors to assure that the material presented is not biased in the interest of the sponsoring organization. To this end, it should be understood by the reader that the articles included have been subjected to peer review by the Editorial Board of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Publication of this supplement does not constitute product or sponsor endorsement by Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.”

  10. Articles published in a supplement are subject to the same copyright regulations that apply to articles published in regular issues of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

  11. Instructions regarding manuscript submission can be found in the printed Journal, at the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Web site at www.PRSJournal.com, or at PRS’ Editorial Manager at: http://www.editorialmanager.com/prs/.

ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES FOR IDEAS & INNOVATIONS


Ideas & Innovations submissions should capture the essence of your work in a short, simplified manner. Manuscripts should be framed in a way that summarizes your experience and directly highlights the pearls you wish to share with readers. Ideas & Innovations should not be perceived as an avenue for “miniature Original Articles.”

Ideas & Innovations do not need to focus on a scientific hypothesis/analysis nor conform to the standard format of a scientific paper (i.e., traditional sections such as “materials and methods” are not necessary).

ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES FOR LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letters to the Editor that advance the scientific conversation or are otherwise meaningful, discussing material recently published in the Journal, are welcome. The Journal will only consider Letters to the Editor if they are received within 2 full months after an article's publication date.

Notice: Beginning on October 1 2021, PRS will be solely accepting and publishing Letters-to-the-Editor that advance the scientific conversation or are otherwise deemed meaningful by the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Editor. In lieu of merely cordial or non-impactful Letters-to-the-Editor, we encourage readers to contact the authors directly utilizing the published correspondence information.

Letters to the Editor may be published with a response from the authors of the article being discussed. Discussions beyond the initial letter and response will not be published. Letters submitted pertaining to published Discussions of articles will not be printed. Letters to the Editor are not usually peer reviewed, but the Journal may invite replies from the authors of the original publication. All Letters are published at the discretion of the Editor.

Letters submitted should pose a specific question that clarifies a point that either was not made in the article or was unclear, and therefore a response from the corresponding author of the article is requested. Corrections and mistakes from a published article can be emailed to [email protected].

Authors will be listed in the order in which they appear in the submission. Letters should be submitted electronically via PRS’ Editorial Manager, at www.editorialmanager.com/prs/.

We reserve the right to edit Letters to meet requirements of space and format. Any financial interests relevant to the content of the correspondence must be disclosed. Submission of a Letter constitutes permission for the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and its licensees and assignees to publish it in the Journal and in any other form or medium.

The views, opinions, and conclusions expressed in the Letters to the Editor represent the personal opinions of the individual writers and not those of the publisher, the Editorial Board, or the sponsors of the Journal. Any stated views, opinions, and conclusions do not reflect the policy of any of the sponsoring organizations or of the institutions with which the writer is affiliated, and the publisher, the Editorial Board, and the sponsoring organizations assume no responsibility for the content of such correspondence.

The Journal requests that individuals submit no more than five (5) letters to Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in a calendar year. NOTICE: Beginning on January 1, 2022, the Journal will allow no more than three (3) letters to Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery per individual per calendar year.

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR DISCUSSIONS

Contents of the Discussion

The goal of the Discussion is to enrich an article by presenting information and perspective based on the experience of the Discussant, who may agree or disagree with an author’s hypothesis, methodology, discussion, or conclusions.

The Discussion should be succinct—not more than 800 words—but detailed, with references and/or figures and tables if pertinent. Authors are limited to 10 tables and/or figures.

The Discussion should not become another paper and it should be more than a diatribe or a series of compliments and platitudes.

If you served as a peer reviewer on this manuscript, it is pivotal that you do not discuss any version of the manuscript other than the final, accepted version sent to you today. Information gathered, opinions formed, or details recalled from previous versions of the manuscript along the editorial process should NOT be used to inform the content of your discussion. Previous versions of the manuscript are privately shared with peer reviewers and are not intended for public dissemination. If you feel that your role as peer reviewer has disabled your ability to offer an unbiased discussion of this manuscript, please decline the invitation.

The discussion of a manuscript represents the opinion of the author and does not reflect the official stance of the Editor-in-Chief, Editorial Board, American Society of Plastic Surgeons or Wolters Kluwer Health.

Format of the Discussion

The first page of the Discussion should include the complete title of the manuscript under review, the authors of that paper, as well as your name, degree(s), and address. Your name and address should also appear at the conclusion of the Discussion.

The title of your Discussion should be identical to the title of the article being discussed. If it is not, the Publisher reserves the right to alter the title accordingly.

All Discussions should follow the general format and instructions provided in the Instructions for Authors.

All Discussions should be submitted to PRS via PRS’ Editorial Manager on-line submission system at: http://www.editorialmanager.com/prs/.

We can allow only approximately 4 weeks for a Discussion to complete the manuscript. If you are unable to finish within that time, please contact the Editorial Office.

CLINICAL FOLLOW-UP ARTICLES

Authors of Clinical Follow-Up articles should follow the general format and instructions provided in the Instructions for Authors.

Please bear in mind that your manuscript should be of approximately 500 to 1000 words in length to bring the readership up to date on your current experience with the procedure that you previously described. These articles are intended to be an update only, not an original article.

POLICY ON SOCIETY HISTORY ARTICLES

1. All listed groups for which PRS is the official Journal and select unlisted partnering groups/meetings will be allowed to submit for peer review and ultimately publish One Society-specific History article every 10 years. The history articles should meet the criteria of a PRS Special Topic article and are subject to peer review.

2. Listed groups can continue to publish their society-specific Abstract Supplements as per existing protocols, with requisite publication costs in PRS or PRS Global Open.

3. Paid-for Society-Specific History Supplements will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR REFERENCES

The style for references follows the AMA (American Medical Association) Citation Style. Many resources exist in word processing programs and online to help format to the AMA Manual of Style.

A few basic examples follow:

Journal Articles
1. Craft AB. Title with initial cap in Roman: Subtitle also with initial cap in Roman. Plast Reconstr Surg. 1997;100:111-115.
[List all authors to a maximum of six. If there are more than six, list three et al.]

Chapter in a Book
2. Reagan MF. Title with initial cap: Subtitle with initial cap. In: Smith SR, Jones HG, Green TM, eds. Cap and Lower Case Title in Italics. Vol. 5, 5th ed. New York: Bender & Sons; 1971:22-50.

Entire Book
3. Wayne JD, ed. Cap and Lower Case Title in Italics. Basel, Switzerland: Rodan-Smythe; 1971.

Proceedings
4. Ames G. Title with initial cap only in Roman. In Proceedings of the 5th Annual Meeting of the Society of American Chemists, Boston, Mass; June 4-9, 1996.

Presentation
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