Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery
(Official journal of The Association of Plastic Surgeons of India)

Instructions to Authors

Indian Journal of Plastic surgery (IJPS) is the biannual Official Journal of the Association of Plastic Surgeons of India. The editors and publishers of IJPS invite concise articles on original clinical and/or experimental studies, new surgical techniques and comprehensive review articles that offer significant contribution to the advancement of knowledge in the field of plastic surgery. Brief reports and letter to the editor will be published depending on its originality, educational value and its validity. All the articles should contain substantive ideas and commentary supported by appropriated data and references. Only standard abbreviations should be used for units of measurement. Wherever applicable, it should include statement that the local Ethical Committee approved the research protocol. If accepted for publication, the contribution will be the property of the Association of Plastic Surgeons of India.

Submission Requirements

Four complete sets of the manuscript should be submitted, each with a full set of tables and illustrations. All manuscripts must be sent to:

Pramod Kumar
Editor,
Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery
Kasturba Medical College
Manipal 576 119
Karnataka, INDIA
Tel: (+91) (0) (8252) 71201 Ext 2286(O) 2135 (R)
Fax: (+91) (0) (8252) 70062
Email: pkumar86@hotmail.com
          pkumar12-vip@zetainfotech.com

The author should retain one complete set of the manuscript to avoid inconvenience due to possible losses in the mail. All manuscript must be accompanied by duly signed statement by author(s) that the manuscript under consideration has not been published, simultaneously submitted or already accepted for publication elsewhere. This does not preclude publication of complete manuscript that follows publication of preliminary findings elsewhere provided correct reference(s) is revealed. Whenever applicable permission by the publishers to use previously published material must be sent at the time of submission. Rejected article will not be returned to the authors except on request.

Transfer of Copyright

Author(s) must submit following duly signed transfer of copyright statement with the manuscript:
“ I (we) hereby affirm that the submitted manuscript entitled _______is neither under consideration nor has been published in any other Journal. Also, I (we) warrant that the article is original, does not infringe upon any copyright or other proprietary right of any third party. I (we) hereby assign the copyright to the Association of Plastic Surgeons of India if accepted for publication”.
Author(s) name(s), title(s), address and signature(s)/ Signature(s) of author(s) on behalf of other authors (it is the responsibility of the signing author(s) to inform other author(s) about the article under consideration

If full or part of the manuscript has been published elsewhere, written permission from the corresponding author and/or the publisher must be submitted along with the manuscript. The editor reserves the right to make editorial and literary changes. Recommendations regarding major rearrangements of corrections may be offered to help authors rewrite their communication in a way that is acceptable to the journal and to enhance the presentation.

Preparation of Manuscript

All manuscript should be type written, double spaced on good quality white A4 paper with a margin about 3cm all around. All pages should be numbered. It should be divided in following sections and each section should start on a separate page: title page, summary, text (including acknowledgements), references, tables and captions to illustrations.

Title Page

The title page should include
1. Title of the article
2. Full name of each author with qualification and designation
3. Name and address of the institution (s)
4. Source of support in form of grant (if any)
5. Address of the corresponding author (with phone, fax number and e-mail address if any).

Summary

Summary of the manuscript should include background, methods, results and conclusion of the study. It should not exceed more than 200 words. Three to six key words should be listed at the end in a separate line.

Text

The text should include: introduction, methods (including operative steps if any), results and discussion.

Introduction: Purpose of the manuscript and scientific context for the study with strictly pertinent references should be mentioned in not more than 400 words.

Methods: Methods should include selection criteria for subjects, study design, apparatus and equipment used wherever applicable. New ideas/operative steps/techniques should be described systematically and vividly.

Results: Result should be intelligible and supported by tables and illustrations, which should be accurately quoted in the text.

Discussion: discussion should include reasons for using particular method (new or substantially modified), its advantages and limitations. New and/or important findings, important aspects of the study should be emphasized and compared with available relevant studies. Conclusion may be added highlighting any future scope/plan. New hypothesis when appropriate and recommendations when called for should be included.

Acknowledgment: Footnotes of acknowledgments to individual who significantly helped in completing the study may be included in the end of the text.

References: All references should be cited in the text numerically as superscript and in the “References” section should be numbered in the same order as quoted in the text. If a particular reference is quoted twice or more, it's number should be repeated at appropriate places in the text. All authors’ names should be listed if number is less than four, but if number is five or more, first three names with et al should be added. If it is necessary to quote the name(s) of the authors (when more than one) in the text, it is advisable to quote first author’s name followed by et al and reference number as superscript. Journal titles should be abbreviated in the index medicus style. Using abstracts (Medline/Internet) as references should be avoided but if necessary to complete the list of references, it may be quoted as such without drawing any conclusion from it. Unpublished observations and personal communications may be cited when absolutely necessary. Manuscript accepted for publication may be added in the reference list (specify journal, year of acceptance and write “in press” in parentheses). The reference should include author(s) name, title of the manuscript, name of the journal, year of publication, volume number and first and last page of the manuscript. All authors will be responsible for the accuracy of references.

Examples of References
A) Journals
1. Standard journal Articles (List all authors when four or less but when five or more list only three and add et al): 1. Nagarkar NM, Mann SBS, Gupta AK. Aesthetic values of nasofacial angles. Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery 1996; 29: 12-15.

2. Becker DG, Mc Laughlin RB, Loevner LA, Mang A. The lateral osteotomy in rhinoplasty: clinical and radiologic rationale for osteotome selection. Plast Reconstr Surg 2000; 105: 1806-1816 (Discussion by Rohrich RJ, Krueger JK: 1817-1819).

3. Yuksel F, Kislaoglu E, Durak N et al. Prevention of painful neuromas by epineural ligatures, flaps and grafts. Br J Plast Surg 1997; 50: 182-185.
2. Corporate Author(s)

American College of chest Physicians/ Society of critical care medicine consensus conference. Definition for sepsis and organ failure and guidelines for the use of innovative therapies in sepsis. Chest 1992; 20: 864- 974.

B) Books
I) Standard Text Books (list all author(s)/ editors(s))
1. Jackson IT, Munro IR, Salyer KE, Whitaker LA. Atlas of Craniomaxillofacial surgery. Facial asymmetry; p258-317. St. Louis: The CV Mosby Company 1982.

2. Serafin D. Atlas of Microsurgical Composite Tissue Transplantation. Temporal Fascial Flap; p 323-330. (Discussion by Upton J; p 330-338). Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company1996.

3. Franklin CA (ed). Modi’s textbook of Medical Jurisprudence and Toxicology; p14-15. Bombay: NM Tripathi Private Limited 1998.

II) Chapters in Book
1. Posnik JC. Craniofacial dysostosis syndrome: A staged reconstructive approach. In: Turvey TA, Vig KWL, Fonseca RJ (eds); Facial Clefts and Craniosynostosis: Principles and management; p630-685. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company 1996.

2. Bhattacharya V. Fasciocutaneous flaps. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery: Current trends (proceeding of CME program at national conference of Association of Plastic Surgeons of India, Calcutta) 1998; p36-40.

3. Corporate Author (s)
A Guide to Leprosy Control. The World Health Organization, Geneva1980; p 43-44.

Legends for Illustration: Concise vivid pen picture for illustrations should be typed on a separate paper. Each illustration should be numbered and cited in the text in consecutive order.

Tables: Each table should be numbered and typed on separate sheets and should have a brief title. Any explanatory matter (e.g. nonstandard abbreviations used in the table) should be explained in the footnote using symbols (*, +, **, ++).

Illustrutions: Photographs must be of good quality, sharp, black and white on glossy paper. The size should not be less than 5´7 inches. Consistency in size within the article is strongly preferred. Line diagrams should be of good quality with figure number and caption below it. Color photographs will be considered for publication only if it adds to the value of the manuscript. Authors may be asked to pay for publication of color photographs. Each photograph should have a label pasted on the reverse side stating number of the photograph, the title of the manuscript and arrow indicating the top of the photograph. It is authors’ responsibility to take informed consent before publishing the photographs of identifiable persons. In suitable cases author(s) may be asked to send signed releases showing informed consent.

Abbreviations: Standard abbreviations should be used consistently throughout the manuscript. Unusual abbreviations, if necessary, should be spelled out the first time they appear in the text, followed immediately by the abbreviation in the prostheses.

Statistical Evaluation: Statistical evaluation of the data is encouraged and the specific method used should be referenced. Authors may review “Yancey JM. Ten rules of reading clinical research papers. Am J Surg 1990; 159: 533-539.”

Brief Reports: Brief reports should not be more than two to three pages (approximately 1500 to 2500 words) of the Journal. Number of illustrations and tables should preferably be not more than two.

Editorials: Material on timely subjects of clinical interest or of general interest to the surgical community, including topic of social significance may be submitted to publish as Editorial. Editorial should be concise, brief (not more than 1,000 words in usual circumstances) and should express the personal opinion of the author. It should contain minimum number of references. Following the guidelines for original manuscripts, four copies of each editorial should be sent.

Letters to the Editor: Letter to the editor should not be more than 500 words and limited number of relevant references should be included. No anonymous correspondence will be published.

Book Reviews: Books shall be reviewed only at the discretion of the editor.

Electronic Submission: After the manuscript is accepted, the author(s) may be asked to submit the original manuscript on diskette/ by e-mail. Electronic submission expedites publication with least error. Electronic submission of the original manuscript along with four copies of the manuscript and illustrations at the initial stage will avoid unnecessary delay in correspondence. The authors may be asked to submit the original revised manuscript in case of major modification.

Submission Check List