Instructions to Authors
Editorial Office
Editor–in–Chief, Jeffrey M. Kenkel, MD, FACS
Aesthetic Surgery Journal
c/o Phaedra Cress
11262 Monarch Street
Garden Grove, CA 92841
E-mail: [email protected]
Disclaimer
Statements and opinions expressed in the articles and communications herein, including reader responses published in the Letters to the Editor section, are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the editors, the publisher (Oxford University Press), or The Aesthetic Society. The editors, the publisher, and The Aesthetic Society disclaim any responsibility or liability for such materials. The editors, the publisher, and The Aesthetic Society do not guarantee, warrant, or endorse any product or service advertised in this publication, nor do they guarantee any claim made by the manufacturer of such product or service.
Accepted Articles and Final Publication
Publication Ethics
Authors should observe high standards with respect to publication ethics as set out by the Commission on Publication Ethics (COPE), the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) and International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Falsification or fabrication of data; plagiarism, including duplicate publication of the authors’ own work without proper citation; and misappropriation of work are all unacceptable practices. Any cases of ethical misconduct are treated very seriously and will be dealt with in accordance with COPE guidelines. The reviews of editors and peer reviewers will be considered confidential and should not be made publicly available without the express permission of the manuscript's authors and the journal's editor-in-chief.
Predatory publishers and journals are a serious phenomenon and one that we follow very carefully. These are publishers and journals that purport to be bonafide but in fact are not. In some instances, real journal names are copied closely to confuse authors, prompting them to submit and publish in these counterfeit journals. We receive continuous reports about outreach from predatory publishers and suggest if questions arise, readers and authors consult these two resources:
- Cabells offers both whitelist and blacklist services and predatory reports to help authors discern legitimate journals and publishers. We suggest authors consult the Cabells website for guidance.
- ThinkCheckSubmit website: this allows authors to confirm the legitimacy of journals and/or publishers by offering a detailed step-by-step checklist. This website is supported by: COPE, WAME, ICMJE, and OASPA and we encourage authors to follow these precautionary steps if they suspect predatory behavior.
- ThinkCheckAttend website: this allows authors to confirm the legitimacy of academic conferences they may wish to attend, thereby avoiding predatory conferences.
WAME gives a useful overview of misconduct, using a slightly amended version of the US Office of Research Integrity definition of scientific misconduct and including these behaviors:
- Falsification of data: ranges from fabrication to deceptive reporting of findings and omission of conflicting data, or willful suppression and/or distortion of data.
- Plagiarism: The appropriation of the language, ideas or thoughts of another without crediting their true source and representation of them as one’s own original work.
- Improprieties of authorship: improper assignment of credit, such as excluding authors, misrepresentation of the same material as original in more than one publication, inclusion of individuals as authors who have not made a definite contribution to the work published or submission of multi-authored publications without the concurrence of all authors.
- Misappropriation of the ideas of others: an important aspect of scholarly activity is the exchange of ideas among colleagues. Scholars can acquire novel ideas from others during the process of reviewing grant applications and manuscripts. However, improper use of such information can constitute fraud. Wholesale appropriation of such material constitutes misconduct.
- Violation of generally accepted research practices: serious deviation from accepted practices in proposing or carrying out research, improper manipulation of experiments to obtain biased results, deceptive statistical or analytical manipulations, or improper reporting of results.
- Material failure to comply with legislative and regulatory requirements affecting research: including but not limited to serious or substantial, repeated, willful violations of applicable local regulations and law involving the use of funds, care of animals, human subjects, investigational drugs, recombinant products, new devices, or radioactive, biological or chemical materials.
- Inappropriate behavior in relation to misconduct: this includes unfounded or knowingly false accusations of misconduct, failure to report known or suspected misconduct, withholding of information relevant to a claim or misconduct and retaliation against persons involved in the allegation or investigation.
Many journals, including the Aesthetic Surgery Journal, also include redundant publication and duplicate publication, lack of declaration of competing interests and of funding/sponsorship, and other failures of transparency to be forms of misconduct.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted Technologies Policy
As a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), our journal strives for the highest level of quality in content and process. Recent innovations have led us to address the use of AI tools in scholarly publishing with a primary goal of transparency. The journal presently uses AI to detect plagiarism with the software iThenticate. The use of AI-driven tools such as this requires oversight by editors and editorial staff and all decisions that result from the information gained through the use of the tool are made by the editors. No editorial decisions are made by or with AI resources to ensure the sanctity of our peer review process. Editorial decisions involving misconduct and research integrity that may or may not lead to corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern are made solely by the editors with no AI involvement after careful review of each individual case.
Manuscript submissions that are in part or wholly written by artificial intelligence-generated tools will be rejected without review and deemed unacceptable for publication. AI-assisted technologies may not be listed or cited as an author. Any use of such technology must be disclosed with this statement:
“During the preparation of this work, the author(s) used (NAME TOOL/SERVICE) to (REASON). After using this tool/service, the author(s) reviewed and edited the content as needed and take full responsibility for the content of the publication.”
Such technology should only be used to improve readability and language, not replace researcher tasks, data interpretation, or be used to analyze or draw scientific conclusions. This declaration doesn’t apply to the use of basic tools for checking grammar, syntax, references, etc. The editors reserve the right to question authors whose content appears to be written through an AI tool, or if such an instance is identified by reviewers during peer review. We maintain that strict oversight by editors and editorial staff is the hallmark to ensuring a rigorous and fair peer review process meeting the highest ethical standards.
Dealing with Allegations of Misconduct
We take seriously all possible misconduct. If a reviewer has concerns that a submitted article describes something that might be considered to constitute misconduct in research, publication, or professional behavior, this should be brought to the attention of the editorial office. Editorial staff will then discuss the case in confidence among our editorial team and publisher. The editor-in-chief, editorial staff and/or the ASJ Ethics Committee will review all instances on a case-by-case basis.
If the case cannot be resolved by discussion with the author(s) and the editor-in-chief still has concerns, the case may be reported to the appropriate authorities. If, during the course of reviewing or reading an article, a reviewer or reader is alerted to possible problems (for example, fraudulent data) in another publication, the reviewer or reader should immediately alert the editorial office ([email protected]). Cases of research publication misconduct may be referred to COPE in an anonymized format if further guidance is required.
Authorship and Authorship Requirements
All authors listed on the manuscript should have contributed significantly to the design or implementation of the experiment or the analysis and interpretation of the data. All authors should have been involved in the writing of the manuscript at the draft and any revision stages and have read and approved the final version. Any other individuals who contributed to the experiment or the writing of the manuscript should be listed in the Acknowledgments section. Two first co-authors may be included and this may be denoted in the Acknowledgements section. Only those who contributed materially to the writing, design, or analysis of the article should be mentioned. For further information and guidance about what constitutes authorship, readers are encouraged to consult the ICMJE’s Defining the Role of Authors and Contributors page.
Corresponding Author
Only one corresponding author is permitted for each manuscript, and the person designated as the corresponding author in the submission system will receive all email communications and automated messages, such as manuscript decisions and article proofs.
Affiliations
Author affiliations and corresponding author information should be limited to each author's current or most important affiliation, which may include academic university affiliations or private practice. Only one affiliation per author is permitted. If more than one is received, the first will be used. Please include each author's job title (eg, clinical professor, chair of the department of plastic surgery, medical student, resident/fellow, etc.). When all authors work at the same department within a single university, the affiliation will be listed as: “From the Division/Department of, University, City, State.” Doctors in private practice will be listed as: “Dr. Jones is a (job title) private practice in city, state, country.”
Originality
By submitting your manuscript to the journal, it is understood that it is an original manuscript, is unpublished work, and is not under consideration elsewhere.
Authorship and "Umbrella" groups
Many large collaborative studies are organized under a group name that represents all the participants. All articles must have at least one named individual as author. Authors who wish to acknowledge the umbrella group from which the data originate should list the authors of the article, followed by "on behalf of the [GROUP NAME]." The members of the group should be listed individually in the Acknowledgments section, and if correctly presented will ultimately be listed in Medline as "collaborators."
Conflicts of Interest and Disclosures
At the point of submission, each author should reveal any financial interests or connections, direct or indirect, or other situations that might raise the question of bias in the work reported or the conclusions, implications, or opinions stated--including pertinent commercial or other sources of funding for the individual authors or for the associated departments or organizations, personal relationships, or direct academic competition. If an author is an employee of a company (or consults/lectures for, owns stock in, receives royalties for, is on the board of directors for, etc.) whose product is being discussed in the article, this must be disclosed.
If the manuscript is published, conflict of interest/disclosures information, including if none was declared, will be communicated through a formal Disclosures statement in the published paper.
Any changes made to the list of conflicts after the paper is accepted must be submitted in writing, signed by the appropriate authors (that is, the corresponding author and the author for whom the conflict exists), to the Aesthetic Surgery Journal editorial office. Any changes to published conflict of interest information will require the publication of a correction notice, per COPE guidelines.
Experimental Ethics
Human Subjects and Institutional Review Board Approval
All US-based retrospective and prospective studies involving living human patients require Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval; please name the entity/institution that granted approval in the Methods section. Please note that some retrospective studies, such as retrospective medical chart reviews, may qualify for exemption provided that the subjects cannot be identified through linked identifiers, and are not contacted or reidentified by the investigator. To qualify for this category, a researcher may access medical chart information but may not record or link these identifiers to the research data set.
See here for a full list of exceptions to IRB requirements.
Cadaver studies and animal research studies must follow the Declaration of Helsinki (DoH) and/or guiding principles; please state which principle was followed in the Methods section. All internationally-based studies for which IRB approval is not available must follow the DoH and/or guiding principles; please state which principle was followed in the Methods section. Verification of informed consent for every patient is required and must be uploaded with your submission to verify consent was received. Please include the following sentence in the Methods section, “Written consent was provided, by which the patients agreed to the use and analysis of their data.” In cases where IRB approval is not required (eg, international submissions for which IRB is not available), the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Regulations for the Protection of Human Subjects, or the Belmont Report must be followed. Copies of these documents are available online at the following sites:
DHHS Regulations
Belmont Report
Declaration of Helsinki
See here for full details regarding IRB and research ethics requirements and see here for exceptions to IRB requirements. Also see here for more information on ASJ’s guidelines and standards regarding IRB approval and research ethics.
Animal Experiments
For manuscripts that describe animal studies, the US Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals must be followed. Prior to submitting a manuscript, authors must read and agree to the Ethics in Publishing statement posted on the Journal website. This statement reflects key principles outlined in the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors' "Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts" and the Council of Science Editors' "Editorial Policy Statement."
Clinical Trials
In accordance with the Clinical Trial Registration Statement from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), all clinical trials published in the journal must be registered in a public trials registry at or before the onset of participant enrollment.
The registry must be accessible to the public at no charge, searchable, open to all prospective registrants, managed by a not-for-profit organization, and include all the necessary information as specified by the ICMJE. The full ICMJE policy on clinical trial registration and a list of recommended registries can be found on the ICMJE website: https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/publishing-and-editorial-issues/clinical-trial-registration.html. Results posted in the same clinical trials registry in which the primary registration resides will not be considered prior publication if they are presented in the form of a brief abstract (<500 words or less) or a table.
Authors are requested to provide the exact URL and unique identification number for the trial registration within their title page document at the time of submission. We ask that authors include the URL and identification number on the title page document as part of the manuscript submission. This information will then be included within the manuscript if accepted.
Self-Archiving Policy
The published journal article cannot be shared publicly, for example on ResearchGate, Academia.edu, or other academic social networking sites, to ensure the sustainability of peer-reviewed research in journal publications.
OUP’s self-archiving policy sets out the ways in which OUP journal authors can self-archive versions of their work on their own webpages, on institutional webpages, and in other repositories.
For information about this journal's policy, please visit our Author Self-Archiving policy page.
Drug Disclaimer
The mention of trade names or commercial products or organizations and the inclusion of advertisements in Aesthetic Surgery Journal does not imply endorsement by the Society, the editors, the editorial board, Oxford University Press, or the organization to which the authors are affiliated. The editors and publishers have taken all reasonable precautions to verify drug names and doses, the results of experimental work, and clinical findings published in Aesthetic Surgery Journal. The ultimate responsibility for the use and dosage of drugs mentioned in Aesthetic Surgery Journal and in the interpretation of published material lies with the medical practitioner, and the editors and publishers cannot accept liability for damages arising from any errors or omissions in Aesthetic Surgery Journal. Please inform the editors of any errors.
Material Disclaimer
The opinions expressed in Aesthetic Surgery Journal are those of the authors and contributors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Society (The Aesthetic Society), the editors, the editorial board, the publisher (Oxford University Press), or the organization with which the authors are affiliated. Level of Evidence (LOE) categories presented in Aesthetic Surgery Journal reflect a judgment regarding the strength of the evidence that was available to our authors before publication and the relevant importance of benefits. We promote the use of evidence-based medicine in medical research and within Aesthetic Surgery Journal. The LOE for qualified articles will be reviewed by the editor–in-chief, the Evidence-Based Medicine editor(s), and/or technical experts as appropriate. Levels of Evidence are classified as Therapeutic, Risk, or Diagnostic. We trust that our authors will confirm the accuracy of information presented to describe generally accepted practices. Other professionals in the field may have varying opinions; therefore, and because of advances in medical research we strongly suggest that readers personally verify specified treatments and drugs including manufacturers' guidance. It is the reader's responsibility to render their own professional decisions, and to appropriately advise and treat their own patients.
Aesthetic Surgery Journal endeavors to provide accurate and up-to-date information, but we do not warrant that it is, nor do our licensors who supply certain content linked to or otherwise accessible from our content. We do not advocate or endorse the use of any drug or therapy contained within, nor does the Journal diagnose patients. Information published is provided on an as-is basis and to the fullest extent permitted by law. The Journal and its licensors assume no responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the aid of this information or any other use of this information.
License to Publish
Upon receipt of accepted manuscripts by the publisher, corresponding authors will be asked via email to complete an online copyright license to publish form. Once this email is received, the license form should be signed within 24 hours. If a license agreement is not signed within 48 hours of the email being received, your manuscript may be delayed.
It is a condition of publication for all Oxford Journals that authors grant an exclusive license to Oxford University Press or the sponsoring society. This ensures that all of the necessary rights needed for publication of the article are in place including provision for any requests from third parties to reproduce content from the journals are handled efficiently and consistently by OUP, enabling the content to be as widely disseminated as possible. No article will be published unless the signed license has been received at Oxford Journals. Within a few days, a license form link will be sent by OUP Production to the corresponding author. Please note that, in order for your article to publish, it is imperative that you visit the link provided and sign your License to Publish form as soon as possible. Without your signed consent, Oxford Journals cannot publish your article. The sooner your signature is received, the sooner your work can be disseminated. Any queries about the license form should be sent as soon as possible to OUP Rights and Permissions so that any issues can be resolved quickly and to avoid any delay in publication. Any queries about the license form should be sent as soon as possible to OUP Permissions.
As part of the terms of the license agreement, authors may use their own material in other publications written or edited by themselves, provided that the journal is acknowledged as the original place of publication by Oxford University Press.
Work submitted for publication must be original, previously unpublished, and not under consideration for publication elsewhere. If previously published figures, tables, or parts of text are to be included, the copyright holder’s permission must have been obtained prior to submission. For more information on how to obtain permissions, please consult Rights and Permissions.
Open Access
Aesthetic Surgery Journal offers the option of publishing under either a standard license or an open access license. Please note that some funders require open access publication as a condition of funding. If you are unsure whether you are required to publish open access, please do clarify any such requirements with your funder or institution.
Should you wish to publish your article open access, you should select your choice of open access license in our online system after your article has been accepted for publication. You will need to pay an open access charge to publish under an open access license.
Details of the open access licenses and open access charges.
Charges for Letters to the Editor, Editorials, and Errata using a CC BY, CC BY-NC, or CC BY-NC-ND license:
- Regular charge for society members: $0
- Regular charge for non-society members: $0
Charges for all other article types using a CC BY, CC BY-NC, or CC BY-NC-ND license:
- Discounted charge for society members: $4,000
- Regular charge for non-society members: $5,334
OUP has a growing number of Read and Publish agreements with institutions and consortia which provide funding for open access publishing. This means authors from participating institutions can publish open access, and the institution may pay the charge. Find out if your institution is participating.
Please note that members of The Aesthetic Society are eligible for a discount to the open access charge. Authors may be asked to prove eligibility for the member discount.
Global Assistance
Authors from developing countries are offered a waiver on the open access charge when publishing in ASJ Open Forum. Please click here to view the lists of eligible countries and regions.
Authorship
As stated above, all authors listed on the manuscript should have contributed significantly to the experimental design, its implementation, or analysis and interpretation of the data. All authors should have been involved in the writing of the manuscript at draft and any revision stages and have read and approved the final version. Any other individuals who contributed to the experiment or the writing of the manuscript should be listed in the Acknowledgments section. Excessive authorship lists (more than 15 contributors) will be evaluated by the editorial office, and some authors may be asked to move to the Acknowledgements section if they are not considered full contributors. Submissions with more than 10 authors may be required to explain the role/involvement of each author and their respective authorship contributions. Only those who contributed materially to the writing, design, or analysis of the article should be mentioned in the author list.
Authorship Requirements
For guidelines on authorship, please refer to the ICMJE’s Defining the Role of Authors and Contributors page. The corresponding author should attest that all authors have seen and approved the manuscript during the submission process and, if possible, the title page as well.
Corresponding Author Information
Please note that by submitting an article for publication you confirm that you are the corresponding/submitting author and that Oxford University Press (OUP) may retain your email address for the purpose of communicating with you about the article. You agree to notify OUP immediately if your details change. If your article is accepted for publication, OUP will contact you using the email address you have used in the registration process. Please note that OUP does not retain copies of rejected articles.
ORCID
We encourage authors to provide an ORCID ID when submitting a paper.
ORCID is a global registry of author and researcher identifiers currently being established by an international collaboration of publishers, researchers, research institutions, and funders. The purpose of ORCID is to allow researchers and contributors to academic publications to create for themselves a unique, lifelong ORCID identifier. The adoption of ORCID IDs throughout the research, funding, and publishing life cycle will bring significant benefits – simplifying research workflows, resolving name ambiguity, and ensuring correct attribution of research and other activities. Authors can sign up for an ORCID ID. The sign-up process takes less than a minute, is entirely free, and only needs to be done once. Once registered, authors can link their research, funding and publication history to their ORCID record, ensuring that all relevant information about their research is accessible in one place. Where an ORCID ID is included with a submission, it will appear alongside the author information on the published paper; readers will be able to click through to see your full ORCID record if you’ve chosen to make it publicaly available. You can also choose to allow the paper to be automatically added to your ORCID record (to ensure this occurs, you’ll need to grant permission when emailed by Crossref).
Manuscript Submission
All submissions to Aesthetic Surgery Journal must be made by the corresponding author, who can attest to the accuracy of the manuscript files and information, authors, contact information, disclosures and conflicts of interest on behalf of all authors, and who can affirm the submission is not presently in-process elsewhere. The editorial staff do not have this information and are therefore unable to accept submissions by email or to submit manuscripts via the ScholarOne submission system on behalf of authors.
Submission of a manuscript to Aesthetic Surgery Journal implies the authors of the paper understand and fully accept the policies of the journal as detailed in these Instructions to Authors. Please read these instructions carefully and follow them strictly to ensure that the review and publication of your paper is as efficient and rapid as possible. The editors reserve the right to return manuscripts that are not in accordance with these instructions, including failure to redact author names, initials, and affiliation information within the submission; failure to include a cover letter or title page; and submissions with language issues that may make intelligibility difficult for reviewers. Manuscripts that include images with blocked eyes will be rejected.
All manuscripts submitted for possible publication, including text, tables, graphics, and supplementary materials, should be submitted online via the journal's online submission system. The author should specify a manuscript type for the manuscript (e.g., Original Article, Review, Special Topic, etc.) and choose a set of classifications from the prescribed list available online. Authors may send queries concerning the submission process, manuscript status, or ASJ procedures to the editorial office ([email protected]). All correspondence, including the editor-in-chief’s manuscript decision and any requests for revisions, will be through e-mail.
Review Process
Submitted articles are first evaluated by the editors and, if judged appropriate, are peer-reviewed in a double-blind fashion by at least two selected experts. These experts are queried about potential conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise, between their work and any of the work described in the manuscript they are reviewing. Reviewers may be plastic surgeons, other medical/surgical specialists, researchers/scientists, or others with special expertise in a specific research area. When necessary, articles will be additionally reviewed by a statistician. The Journal makes every effort to notify authors of acceptance/rejection of their articles within one month of submission but at times of high submission, delays may occur. Articles with particular timeliness may be fast-tracked for more rapid publication. Articles provisionally accepted for publication may be returned to the author for additions, clarifications, or alterations, in response to suggestions by the editor and reviewers, prior to final acceptance.
Articles submitted by international authors are evaluated on the merit of the research or techniques presented, and imperfect command of the English language will not be a factor in acceptance or rejection. However, we may request such articles be edited for improved readability prior to publication. Contact [email protected] for more information.
Conflicts of Interest
Aesthetic Surgery Journal requires all authors to acknowledge, on the title page of their manuscript, all funding sources that supported their work within the past 36 months, as well as all institutional or corporate affiliations of the authors. In addition, at the time of submission of their manuscript, authors are also required to disclose to the editor, on a separate form, any relationships with public or private commercial or noncommercial entities, any institutional affiliations, or any personal associations that might pose a conflict of interest including any payments/stock received within the past 36 months. These include, but are not limited to, employment, consultant arrangements, stock or other equity ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent licensing arrangements, benefits to the authors’ institutions, or payments for conducting or publicizing the study. Disclosure of dollar amounts is not required. Authors should describe the role of the study sponsor, if any, in study design; collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; writing the report; and the decision to submit the report for publication. If the supporting source had no such involvement, the authors should so state. Authors should disclose potential conflicts of interest to study participants and should state in the manuscript that they have done so. Disclosures made by the authors will appear on the accepted manuscript in both the print and online editions of the Journal. Corresponding author is responsible for reporting potential conflicts on behalf of all co-authors. If any concerns exist, please discuss it with the editorial team to ensure transparency.
Crossref Funding Data Registry
For sake of transparency, authors are required to name their funding sources, or state if there are none, during the submission process. The Crossref Funder Registry is an open metadata registry of grant-giving organizations that connects research funding to published outcomes. The Funder Registry assigns each organization a unique and persistent identifier to facilitate the collection and creation of accurate metadata to associate funding organizations to research publications and outputs. ASJ’s manuscript submission system, ScholarOne, is integrated with the Crossref Funder Registry and enables authors to select their uniquely identified funder and provide the relevant grant numbers, if applicable. This data is included in the source XML data for articles and are deposited to Crossref as part of the standard DOI registration process for articles.
Manuscript Preparation
All manuscript submissions, regardless of the article type, are required to include a minimum of 2 files: 1) a title page file, which should include the full author list, author affiliations, corresponding author information, disclosures/conflict of interest information for all authors, and funding information, and 2) a manuscript file, which should include the body text of the manuscript and the references cited within the manuscript. Both of these files must be provided as editable Word (.doc/.docx) files.
Original contributions should be submitted online by the corresponding author. The text must conform to acceptable English usage. British English will be converted to American English per AMA style. In the case of international authors, English translation is required; however, the Journal will accept submissions from international authors that may require additional editing prior to publication. Although we are able to make minor edits, if we feel the manuscript requires extensive editing for English language, authors should obtain assistance from a copyeditor at their own expense. We are happy to make recommendations of copyeditors with whom we have worked and who are familiar with ASJ style. If abbreviations cannot be avoided, use the expanded form when first mentioned and abbreviate thereafter. Use generic drug and equipment names (with tradenames and the manufacturer's name and location listed in parentheses afterward).
Title Page File
The title page should include the following for each author: full name (first name and last name), academic degrees (eg, MD, PhD, BS, etc.), job title/position (eg, plastic surgeon, professor, student, etc.), institutional affiliation, a full disclosure statement for each authors, a comprehensive funding statement, and the name of the person who is to be considered the corresponding author. The complete mailing address and email address of the corresponding author should be listed on the title page, as well as their social media information, if available. Do not include any author’s name or initials within the manuscript pages. See the Authorship section above for guidance on what constitutes authorship and who should be listed on the author list.
How to Make Your Article Title More Visible and Your Article More Discoverable
Please consider taking advantage of these tips that will help your article garner the broadest attention possible:
- Your title should be keyword-laden; every word should make the title clearer to aid reader searches and discoverability.
- Your title should be clear, concise and specific to your topic. If your article includes a guide, tutorial, or video, include that element in the title so it is not overlooked.
- Keep your title under 60 characters, if possible. That is the amount of text that will show up in Google’s search results.
- If possible, avoid defining specific geographic locales in titles as this makes the appeal of the research content localized versus more global.
- Place keywords closer to the beginning of the title. This is useful for ranking and users are more likely to click them.
Manuscript File
Abstract
Abstracts should not exceed 250 words and should appear on the first page after the title page. The abstract should be factual, not descriptive, and present the key points in the manuscript. The structure should include the following subheadings: Background; Objectives (including the major hypothesis tested, if any); Methods (study design, the setting, sample, and measures used to collect data); Results (major outcomes and statistical significance, if appropriate); and Conclusions (the significance of results).
Note that some categories of articles (eg, Special Topics) use unstructured abstracts (ie, one single paragraph without subheadings).
References
Authors are responsible for the accuracy of their list of References. References must be cited consecutively in the text as superscript numerals and listed in numerical order at the end of the text. Reference format should conform to that set forth in American Medical Association Manual of Style, 11th ed. Journal abbreviations should conform to the style used in Cumulated Index Medicus.
As of March 2024, we ask that authors limit their References lists to no greater than 100 references for full-length articles (eg, Original Articles, Review Articles, etc.). Shorter articles (eg, Preliminary Reports, Letters to the Editor, Special Topics, etc.) should not exceed 50 references.
Each reference should include the following:
For Journals
Authors' names and initials, title of article, journal name, date, volume number, inclusive pages, and the article DOI are required. List all authors when six or fewer; when seven or more, list only three and add "et al."
References for journal articles should be formatted as follows: Author AA, Author BB, Author CC. Title of article. Abbreviated Title of Journal. Year of publication;volume(issue):page numbers. Doi.
Example: Fischer MA, Stedman MS, Lii J, et al. Primary medication non-adherence: analysis of 195,930 electronic prescriptions. J Gen Intern Med. 2010;25(4):284–290. doi: 10.1007/s11606-010-1253-9.
For Books
Authors' names, chapter title, editor's name, book title, edition, city, publisher, date, and pages:
Kouchoukos NT, Wareing TH. Management of complications of aortic surgery. In: Waldhausen JA, Orringer MB, eds. Complications in Cardiothoracic Surgery. 1st ed. St. Louis, MO: Mosby; 1991:224-236.
Additional Manuscript Files
Any/all additional manuscript files (eg, table files, image/figure files, appendices, and etc.) must be uploaded individually as part of the manuscript submission process.
Figure Images and Illustrations
Image files, labeled chronologically as “Figure 1,” “Figure 2,” etc., must be uploaded individually as high-resolution .jpeg, .tiff, or .png files. These images should not appear within the manuscript file. Please remember to redact all author names, initials, and/or affiliation information that may appear in figures or tables.
Figures should be submitted online along with the manuscript and should be numbered chronologically by order of their first mention in the manuscript text (eg, Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.). All figures must be mentioned at least once, in order, within the manuscript. Figures should be uploaded as large, separate .jpeg, .tiff, or .png files. All multi-part figures must be uploaded individually rather than grouped together (ie, a figure image with 4 parts must be uploaded as 4 separate image files labeled alphabetically as Part A, Part B, Part C, and Pard D).
Line art should be at least 1000 DPI and presented in full color (where possible). Typewritten or freehand lettering is unacceptable. All lettering must be done professionally and should be in proportion to the drawing, graph, or photograph. ASJ cannot accept poor-quality illustrations, and all illustrations/diagrams/artwork must be in full color.
All images should be at least 5 inches wide. Images should be uploaded as large, separate .jpg/.png/tiff files. Graphics software such as Photoshop and Illustrator should be used in the creation of the art. Color images must be CMYK, at least 300 DPI.
Figure accessibility and alt text
Incorporating alt text (alternative text) when submitting your paper helps to foster inclusivity and accessibility. Good alt text ensures that individuals with visual impairments or those using screen readers can comprehend the content and context of your figures. The aim of alt text is to provide concise and informative descriptions of your figure so that all readers have access to the same level of information and understanding, and that all can engage with and benefit from the visual elements integral to scholarly content. Including alt text demonstrates a commitment to accessibility and enhances the overall impact and reach of your work.
Alt text is applicable to all images, figures, illustrations, and photographs.
Alt text is only accessible via e-reader and so it won’t appear as part of the typeset article.
Detailed guidance on how to draft and submit alt text.
Figure Legends
A figure legend document should be uploaded individually as a Word (.doc/.docx) file. Each figure must have its own caption within the figure legend file. The following information should accompany each clinical photograph: the patient’s age and gender, the presenting complaint, the procedure the patient underwent, and the postoperative time when each photograph was taken. For multi-part figures, please describe each portion of each figure in the figure legend document using letters only (e.g. Figure 1A, 1B, 1C, etc.).
If an illustration, image, or figure has been previously published, the legend must give full credit to the original source and the author must seek permission for reuse from the copyright holder of the image/illustration/figure. Please upload documentation confirming that the copyright holder has granted permission for you to use their image.
For illustrations/artwork that has been prepared by an artist, authors must upload a permission form confirming that the artist has granted the authors permission to use their work in the manuscript.
Patient Images
ASJ requires long-term (12 months or longer) follow-up images for surgical procedures. Some exceptions to this policy can be made per the editor-in-chief’s discretion.
We will not accept figures/videos/etc. that show the genitalia of minors 18 years old or younger. For images of minors where breasts are shown, they will only be accepted if they are clinically critical to understanding the procedure. This will be determined by the discretion of editor-in-chief with the author’s input.
Patient Consent for Images
We require authors to upload individual signed consent forms for each patient featured in a manuscript’s figures/videos/etc. These forms should specifically grant permission for the images/videos featuring the patient to be published and used without restriction in print and/or online promotion surrounding the article and/or Journal. All patients who appear in the images/videos must provide an original signature granting this permission. If the consent forms are not in English, authors should also provide a blank copy of the form translated into English.
Please see our HIPAA-compliant Patient Photo Consent form as an example.
If a patient revokes consent of their likeness being published in the Journal, you must notify the Journal staff prior to any publication. If the author revokes consent after publication, we will be unable to accommodate the request.
Patient Image Composition
We do not accept images with blocked, pixelated or blurred eyes. All submission received with blocked eyes will be returned to the authors to correct and re-upload. Whenever possible, please make the background color for preoperative and postoperative photos consistent (light blue is preferred).
Preoperative and postoperative photographs should show the patient at the same exposure, distance and angle and with the same body pose and/or facial expression. Cropping is very important for the best representation of your work. Please take care to crop all preoperative and postoperative images precisely so they show the exact same portions of the patient. Preoperative and postoperative photographs should be taken with the same background color (we prefer light blue, when possible), lighting, film, and lens type. For photographs illustrating breast or body contouring procedures, distracting clothing of any kind should be avoided within the photographic field. In no instance should postoperative results, including scars, be obscured by clothing.
For facial photography, when possible, patients should be shown without makeup and jewelry, both preoperatively and postoperatively. If patients prefer not to remove makeup, both preoperative and postoperative makeup should be similar. In addition, if patients are amenable, pulling hair and bangs off the face in both preoperative and postoperative photographs illustrating facial procedures is preferred.
Video Files
Authors are encouraged to provide informative and educational videos that supplement the article submitted. Background music is discouraged, and authors may be subject to copyright claims for any music featured in videos. All videos should be pertinent to the article and complement the submission. All video submissions must adhere to the Journal’s double-blinded peer review policy, meaning that the authors should not be identifiable in the video(s).
For ease of download, the upper size limit of a single MMC file is 100 MB; 10 MB is recommended. The video must be formatted with a screen size no smaller than 320 X 240 pixels. Resolution of 1920 x 1080 is recommended. Acceptable file extensions are: .wmv, .mp4, .avi, .mov, and .mpg. Signed photo consent forms must be included for any patients featured in the video[s].
Video File Preparations
- All videos must include either clear English-language narration (preferred) or subtitles (in English) as a guide to the viewer. Please avoid mentioning author names, affiliations, or other potentially identifying information that could compromise the double blinded peer review process.
- Videos should not reveal author names, affiliations, logos, or any other identifying information.
- Video segments should be no longer than 3 minutes in duration, if possible.
- The combined duration of all submitted video content should not exceed 15 minutes.
- Recommended frame rate: 24 fps (or 23.976 fps), 25 fps, and 30 fps (or 29.97 fps)
- Desired aspect ratio: 4:3 (standard) or 16:9 (widescreen)
- If compression is required to reduce file size for uploading, please use a minimum bit rate of 10,000 kbit/s – 20,000 kbit/s.
- Background music should not be included in the video.
For Optimal Video Quality
- Film in landscape orientation with reproducible lens type, diffused light, and white-balanced conditions.
- Correct orientation should be provided in some form.
- Avoid excess zoom but apply when indicated.
- Coordination of optimal vantage point must be obtained to avoid typical obstructions of the camera’s main view.
- Audio can be included as part of the video but should be focused and informative.
For acceptable formats, extensions, and other details, please contact the editorial office ([email protected]).
Tables
Tables must be provided as editable Word (.doc/.docx) files and should supplement, not duplicate, the information presented within the manuscript text. They should be self-explanatory and numbered in consecutive order according to their mention in the text. A brief title should be provided for each table. If a table, or any data therein, has been published previously, full credit to the original source must be given in a footnote and permission for reuse must be provided by the copyright holder. Per ASJ style, a maximum of 5 tables will be permitted per manuscript. All extraneous table files must be labeled as online-only supplemental material (eg, Supplemental Table 1, Supplemental Table 2, etc.). Tables should be formatted in 12-point font and should not be longer than 1 page each. Tables that exceed this length may be relabeled as supplemental material by the editorial office.
Supplemental Material
Supporting material that is not essential for inclusion in the full text of the manuscript but would nevertheless benefit the reader and can be made available by the publisher as online-only content, linked to the online manuscript. Supplemental material is available for download exclusively online as opposed to being presented within the typeset PDF of an article. The material should not be essential to understanding the conclusions of the paper but should contain data that is additional or complementary and directly relevant to the article content. Such information might include more detailed methods, extended data sets and data analysis, or additional figures.
All material to be considered as supplemental material must be submitted at the same time as the main manuscript for peer review. It cannot be altered or replaced after the paper has been accepted for publication and will not be edited. Please clearly label all material intended to publish as supplemental material upon submission (eg, Supplemental Figure 1, Supplemental Table 2, etc.). Also ensure that all supplemental material is mentioned in context within the manuscript text, as this will allow the reader to download the hyperlinked supplemental material for their viewing.
Invited Commentaries
Invited commentaries of accepted manuscripts may be requested by the editors. Manuscript preparation for a Commentary is the same as that for an original contribution. The title page for a Commentary should include the Commentary’s title, which should be formatted as follows: ‘Commentary on: [Title of Manuscript],’ as well as the authors of the Commentary. Full affiliation, COI/disclosures, funding, and Corresponding Author information should also be listed on the title page. All Commentaries must be submitted online by the author/s versus emailed to the editorial office and should cite the primary article as the first reference in the References list.
Language Editing
If your first language is not English, we recommend language editing to ensure that the academic content of your paper is fully understood by journal editors and reviewers. Language editing does not guarantee that your manuscript will be accepted for publication. Visit our Lanuage services page for more information on this service. Several specialist language editing companies offer similar services and you can also use any of these. Authors are liable for all costs associated with such services.
Availability of Data and Materials
Where ethically feasible, Aesthetic Surgery Journal strongly encourages authors to make all data and software code on which the conclusions of the paper rely available to readers. We suggest that data be presented in the main manuscript or additional supporting files, or deposited in a public repository whenever possible. For information on general repositories for all data types, and a list of recommended repositories by subject area, please see Choosing where to archive your data.
Data Citation
Aesthetic Surgery Journal supports the Force 11 Data Citation Principles and requires that all publicly available datasets be fully referenced in the reference list with an accession number or unique identifier such as a digital object identifier (DOI). Data citations should include the minimum information recommended by DataCite:
- [dataset]* Authors, Year, Title, Publisher (repository or archive name), Identifier
*The inclusion of the [dataset] tag at the beginning of the citation helps us to correctly identify and tag the citation. This tag will be removed from the citation published in the reference list.
Preprint Policy
Authors retain the right to make an author’s original version (preprint) available through various channels, and this does not prevent submission to the journal. For further information see our Online Licensing, Copyright and Permissions policies. If accepted, the authors are required to update the status of any preprint, including your published paper’s DOI, as described on our Author Self-Archiving policy page. We require that authors indicate in their cover letter that a preprint has been published and where it is available.
Article Types
Aesthetic Surgery Journal publishes the following article types:
- Original Articles
- Review Articles
- Preliminary Reports
- Special Topics
- Letters to the Editor
- Commentaries
- Editorials
- Book Reviews
- Supplements
Article Type Descriptions
All Articles
Manuscript files must be uploaded as an editable Word document (.doc/.docx file) containing the abstract, manuscript text, and References list. Any/all figures and tables, a figure legend document, and supplemental material must be uploaded individually.
We also require authors to upload an individual title page document, which must include the following: full author list, authors’ degree information (eg, MD, PhD, etc.), job/position titles for each author (eg, plastic surgeon, professor, medical student, etc.) author affiliations, corresponding author information (including the author’s complete name, full mailing address, author email address, and social media handle(s), if applicable), all authors’ COI/disclosure information, and any/all funding information. Once uploaded to the submission site, these files will be used to build an all-inclusive PDF document for the purpose of peer review and pre-acceptance evaluation.
*All author names and initials including any/all affiliation information (and, for example, the name of the IRB board at your institution), must be anonymized within the manuscript, or the submission will be returned to the author to redact all such information.
When applicable, a Level of Evidence rating should be included for all research containing evidence-based medicine. This is selected by the author within ScholarOne upon submission and will be evaluated by the editor-in-chief or one of our evidence-based medicine editors after acceptance.
All authors must declare all potential conflicts of interest and any financial support with regard to the research, authorship, or publication of the article.
Original Articles (and Preliminary Reports)
Original Article/Preliminary Report manuscripts are designed to be a full scientific report on the technique, outcomes, and complications of a specific procedure. Original Articles should include a structured abstract (including 5 sections: Background, Objectives, Methods, Results, and Conclusions), and a separate section in the main article for each of the following: Abstract, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions, and References. Preliminary Reports are formatted in the same manner as Original Articles, but usually include a smaller patient cohort and describe a procedure or technique that has not yet been fully validated. Original Articles are generally 4,000-5,000 words and include 50-75 references, up to 8 figures, and up to 5 tables. References lists may not exceed 100 references as of March 2024. The editor-in-chief reserves the right to put some or all figures/tables exclusively online at his own discretion.
Commentaries (by invitation only)
The editors of ASJ may invite a topical expert to write a Commentary to accompany an article. Authors of Commentaries express their perspectives, provide clinical insight, and discuss any shortcomings seen in the study and/or opportunities for further study in the future. Commentaries generally include 1,000 to 1,500 words, 1 figure or table, and up to 10 references.
Editorials (by invitation only)
Editorials are typically authored by the editor-in-chief, editorial board members, or personally invited by the editor-in-chief. Editorials may provide perspective on a “hot topic”, a thematic issue based on a published article; or trends and innovations in aesthetic surgery. Editorials generally include 1,500 to 2,000 words, up to 2 figures and tables in total, and up to 10 references.
Letters to the Editor
Letters to the Editor must be submitted online by the author(s) versus emailed to the editorial office. Letters to the Editor typically present interesting findings to stimulate future research or allow a reader to respond to a previously published article. ASJ makes every effort to publish accepted Letters to the Editor rapidly. Letters to the Editor are typically 500-750 words and include up to 5 images/tables and 5 references. We will accept Letters to the Editor based on published work up to 12 months after publication, or at the discretion of the editor–in–chief.
Review Articles
Review Articles (including Continuing Medical Education articles) provide a review of all existing academic literature on a specific topic and should cover the current “best practices” in that particular field. We prefer systematic reviews over narrative reviews. Systematic reviews should summarize a body of evidence aiming to answer a specific clinical question about diagnostic, prognostic, or therapeutic clinical practice and should adhere to the guidelines outlined by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA).
Narrative reviews outside this area should focus on cutting-edge and evolving developments and how these affect the aesthetic surgeon’s practice. The main text of a review article should contain information about anatomy, evaluation, technique options (surgical/nonsurgical), outcomes, complications, and safety issues. The abstract should be unstructured. Review Articles are generally 4,000-5,000 words and include approximately 15-20 figures and tables in total, and up to 100 references.
Special Topics
Special Topic articles are those that do not fit into one of ASJ’s main subject sections or article types. As such, they follow a customized format that is appropriate to the topic, which may not lend itself to the traditional Methods/Results/Discussion/Conclusions format. Some past Special Topic articles have been written on social media in aesthetic surgery, marketing, and healthcare reform. These articles are typically invited by the editor-in-chief. Special Topics generally include 2,000 to 3,000 words, up to 8 figures and tables in total, and up to 25 references.
Accepted Articles and Final Publication
Accepted Articles
We publish the accepted versions of manuscripts on our Advance Access page ahead of the publication of the final, corrected version of the paper. This is to ensure that groundbreaking research and important information is published as quickly as possible. Most accepted manuscripts will publish within approximately one week from the time of acceptance. Authors are required to sign a license agreement before publication can occur, and this license agreement is sent via email to the corresponding author by the publisher. If you have any questions about ASJ’s rapid publication, please contact: [email protected]
Final Publication
Page Proofs
Corresponding authors are sent the typeset and copyedited version of their paper for their review,referred to as “galley proofs” via email by the publisher. The publisher uses an online proofing tool to assist authors with the proof-correction process. These proofs should be checked immediately, and all corrections, as well as answers to any queries, must be returned to the publishers via the online proofing system within 2 working days. It is the corresponding author's responsibility to check the article proofs thoroughly. ASJ cannot publish the final version of an article until the corresponding author approves the galley proofs and signs the online license agreement.
Advance Access
Once articles complete the proofing process, the corrected versions of those articles (referred to as “corrected proofs”) replace the accepted manuscript versions that were previously published on the Advance Access page. Articles remain on the Advance Access page until they have been published within an issue of the journal. Appearance on the Advance Access page constitutes official publication, and the Advance Access version can be cited via the unique DOI (Digital Object Identifier), which is assigned to all articles upon online publication. When an article appears in an issue, it is removed from the Advance Access page and instead appears on the relevant issue page in accordance with the article’s issue assignment.
Corrected article proofs posted on the Advance Access page have been copyedited and typeset and include any/all corrections provided by the author and/or editorial office. This is before they are paginated for inclusion in a specific issue of the journal. Once an article appears in its final, corrected format within an issue of the Journal, the accepted version of the manuscript will be replaced by the final, corrected version of the article online, which will include copyediting, Journal-specific formatting, and etc. Articles are equally accessible and citable online in their final format as they were in their accepted format.
Embargo Information
Some authors might wish to embargo the publication of their article for a particular date, meaning that the article will not publish online until that specified date. If authors wish to embargo the publication of their article, they must inform the editorial office ([email protected]) immediately upon acceptance. Please note that the editorial office cannot republish an already published accepted manuscript or final version of an article to accommodate a press release or embargo date.
If you are able to promote your ASJ article through a professional media/PR/press agency, The Aesthetic Society prefers to be the first organization to share the article and asks that your organization or agency coordinate with The Aesthetic Society’s PR team by contacting Sarah Liburn at [email protected] prior to requesting a publication embargo. This will ensure a streamlined marketing approach among all organizations involved and will yield the greatest publicity possible for your article. General questions about this policy may be directed to Phaedra Cress at [email protected].
Consort Statement
ASJ's aspiration to be a top-tier scholarly journal and remain the leader in its field will be well served by adopting CONSORT. The main product of CONSORT is the CONSORT Statement, which is an evidence-based, minimum set of recommendations for reporting randomized trials. It offers a standard way for authors to prepare reports of trial findings, facilitating their complete and transparent reporting, and aiding their critical appraisal and interpretation. CONSORT stands for Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials and encompasses various initiatives developed by the CONSORT Group to alleviate the problems arising from inadequate reporting of randomized controlled trials. The CONSORT Statement comprises a 25-item checklist and a flow diagram. The checklist items focus on reporting how the trial was designed, analyzed, and interpreted; the flow diagram displays the progress of all participants through the trial. The CONSORT “Explanation and Elaboration” document explains and illustrates the principles underlying the CONSORT Statement. Extensions of the CONSORT Statement have been developed to give additional guidance for RCTs with specific designs, data and interventions and are available here.
Permissions
Permission to reproduce copyrighted material for print and online publication in perpetuity must be cleared and if necessary, paid for by the author; this includes applications and payments to DACS, ARS, and similar licensing agencies as appropriate. Evidence in writing that such permissions have been secured from the rightsholder must be made available to the editors. It is also the author's responsibility to include acknowledgments as stipulated by the particular institutions. Please note that obtaining copyright permission could take some time. Oxford Journals can offer information and documentation to assist authors in securing print and online permissions: please see the Guidelines for Authors section. Should you require copies of this, please contact the Aesthetic Surgery Journal editorial office or the Oxford Journals Rights department.
In order to reproduce any third-party material, including figures or tables, in an article authors must obtain permission from the copyright holder and be compliant with any requirements the copyright holder may have pertaining to this reuse.
When seeking to reproduce any kind of third-party material authors should request the following:
- non-exclusive rights to reproduce the material in the specified article and journal;
- electronic rights, preferably for use in any form or medium;
- the right to use the material for the life of the work; and
- worldwide English-language rights.
Further guidelines on clearing permissions.
Authors should also include a statement indicating that permission has been obtained in the relevant legend/footnote and provide the editorial office with copies of any relevant paperwork.
A template permissions request letter can be found at the end of the above document.
