Instructions for Authors Basic Listing

Manuscript Submissions
All submissions for consideration must be submitted online at Editorial Manager. The corresponding author will receive all manuscript related correspondence via email. 

There is no fee to submit or publish a manuscript in ePlasty, nor are there any fees associated with including figures/photographs.

Submission Instructions

After creating and/or logging into your Editorial Manager account, please make every effort to complete all fields within the submission form.

After you have completed the submission form, you may browse/attach or drag text files and digital figures onto the submission page. These files will be converted to a PDF for use by reviewers. Figures must not include identifying patient information. Please see additional information on this instruction below.

Classifications: Corresponding authors will be required to select the appropriate professional classifications describing area of specialty and/or interest.

Article Types:

ePlasty will consider the following article types:

• Original Research
• Review Article
• Case Report
• Case Q&A
• Letters to the Editor

Manuscript Preparation

Title Page

Please include the following information in a Word document:

• Article title
• Authorship listing
• Author affiliations
• Identification and contact information of the corresponding author
• Ethics: IRB numbers and names, clinical trial registry information, statement confirming patient consent for use of images, etc
• Sources of support
• Disclosure of competing interests
• Number of tables, figures, and videos

Manuscript

Manuscripts must be double-spaced in Word and include the text, references, tables, and figure and video legends. Tables must be in an editable form. Images and videos should be uploaded separately.

Abstract

For Original Research and Reviews, the Abstract should be structured and divided into 4 sections: Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusions. It should summarize the methods and significant results of the study and is limited to 300 words.

Text

Text should adhere to the American Medical Association Manual of Style for grammar, punctuation, and style. Manuscripts should be written as concisely as possible and all manuscripts are subject to editing by ePlasty, including for length. 

Original Research manuscripts must contain the following sections: Abstract, Introduction, Methods and Materials, Results, Discussion, Limitations, and Conclusions.

Case Reports (includes Case Series) are a detailed report of the symptoms, signs, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of a patient. They must include the following sections: Abstract, Introduction, Case, and Discussion. Photographs and/or videos are required. Case reports should involve 1 to 3 cases and if involving functionality, a video should be included if possible. The case or cases must be unique. Other cases should be reported as a Case Q&A. Both sections are included in PubMed Central.

Please see the additional instructions for the Case Q&As, Post Your Poster, and Letters to the Editors formats below.

References

References should be listed at the end of the manuscript. All reference citations should be superscripted with sequential numerals and without brackets, have a corresponding reference listed in the reference list, and be formatted according to AMA Manual of Style. 

More information regarding general manuscript submission standards can be found at the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals page published by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. 

Figures

Digital images should be a minimum of 300 dpi and uploaded with the manuscript as separate files. Additional guidelines include the following:

• A descriptive legend is required for each figure or illustration (included in the manuscript).
• All abbreviations must be identified at the end of the figure legend.
• If the figure or graph has been published previously, permission to reprint the figure must be obtained in written from the copyright owner by the author and submitted with the manuscript. Please acknowledge the source beneath the figure.

Videos

Videos are encouraged and, if crucial to the understanding of the article, may be required.

• Video file uploads are no longer accepted through Editorial Manager.
• Videos should be submitted via this Online Form at the time the article is submitted to Editorial Manager.
• The editorial staff will incorporate video(s) into the submission prior to peer review. 

Standard Video Specifications:

In the event you are having trouble, contact eplastyeditor@hmpglobal.com.

Permissions

Authors are responsible for clearly identifying any non-original or pre-published material and providing the full citation of the original source. Credit and/or courtesy lines for borrowed tables, figures, and videos, or data contained therein, should be included. These credit lines must clearly state how and where the material was borrowed from (ie, “data from,” “reproduced from,” “reprinted from”), with complete source information. Permission for such items must be obtained in writing from the copyright owner by the author and submitted with the manuscript. Information originating with the US Government, which is considered public domain and does not require permission for reuse, should be clearly identified as such.

By submitting your manuscript to ePlasty, you agree to a plagiarism screen via iThenticate. All submissions will be screened for plagiarism before being reviewed by the peer-review panel.

Patient Identification

A signed statement of informed consent to publish any descriptions, photographs, and/or video of identifiable patients that are essential and clinically relevant to the manuscript must be obtained by authors from all such persons or from parents or legal guardians for minors. Authors are responsible for providing this documentation upon request.

Identifiable personal features that are not essential and clinically relevant should be cropped, hidden, or blurred. Masked photographs of patients will not be accepted, and patient personal identifiers of any kind must not be visible in images, photos, or videos.

Policy on Use of AI in Manuscripts

• AI tools cannot be listed as authors of manuscripts. They do not meet the ICMJE requirements for authorship.
• Authors are responsible for the accuracy and integrity of the content and data within their manuscript, including any sections/references generated by AI tools. 
• Authors may use tools such as grammar and spell check that are built into word processing programs and do not need to declare the use of such tools.
• All other uses of other types of AI tools must be declared in the manuscript:
  • Use of AI tools to help with writing of the manuscript must be mentioned in the Acknowledgments, detailing the specific tools used (and version, if applicable) and in which sections of the manuscript these tools were used.
  • Use of AI tools to help with data analysis or other fundamental aspects of the research in the manuscript must be described in detail in the Materials and Methods, Methods, or other applicable section of the manuscript. This includes a comprehensive description of what tool (and version, if applicable), how it was utilized, and how the information was verified by the authors.
• The journal does not permit the use of AI-generated images or videos in submitted manuscripts, including but not limited to figures, illustrations, radiological images, histological slides, and visual abstracts. This policy is intended to uphold the integrity, reproducibility, and accuracy of the visual content presented in scientific work.
  • An exception may be made when the manuscript's primary focus is on artificial intelligence itself, and the AI-generated visual content is directly relevant to the subject matter under discussion. In such cases, the images or videos will be subject to editorial review and evaluated on a case-by-case basis to ensure appropriateness, transparency, and scientific rigor.
  • Authors must clearly disclose when any visual content has been generated or modified using AI tools and provide details regarding the method, model, and data used to produce the content.

Plagiarism Detection Software 

Plagiarism is defined as the misappropriation of language, ideas, or thoughts of another without attributing proper credit, or obtaining permission, to use the published or unpublished source material and representing the work as one's own.^1,2 ePlasty uses iThenticate to verify the originality of manuscripts submitted for consideration.  

By submitting your manuscript to ePlasty, you agree to a plagiarism screening via iThenticate. All submissions will be screened for plagiarism before being reviewed by a peer-review panel. 

1. World Association of Medical Editors (WAME). Recommendations on Publication Ethics Policies for Medical Journals. World Association of Medical Editors. Accessed April 10, 2022. https://wame.org/recommendations-on-publication-ethics-policies-for-medical-journals  
2. Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Accessed April 10, 2022. https://publicationethics.org/ 

Additional Submission Format Instructions

Case Q&A (formerly Interesting Cases)

Case Q&As are clinical presentations that have high educational value and would impart a lesson to readers. Each Case Q&A consists of a related image and/or video and a description, not to exceed 200 words. It is followed by 4 separate questions, each followed by a detailed answer to the question not to exceed 300 words. Questions should be thoughtful and directed at the important lessons learned. Figures and tables may be included, and, in cases of functionality, videos should be included. References should be limited to 15.

Letters to the Editors

Letters should be no more than 500 words, limited to 5 references, and must comment on an ePlasty article that has been published within the last 3 months. All letters are reviewed by the editors and are selected based upon interest, timeliness, and pertinence. Letters not intended for publication by the authors should state this in the body of the text. Published letters may be edited and shortened; tables and figures are included selectively. If a letter is selected to be published, the author will be notified via email.

Indexing
ePlasty is indexed in PubMed Central is also a member of the Publishers' Circle with Medscape. Full articles can also be viewed on the website at www.eplasty.com, which is fully searchable and is registered with all major Internet search engines. Full content is available free of charge.