Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases

INFORMATION FOR CONTRIBUTORS

Authors of manuscripts submitted to SURGERY FOR OBESITY AND RELATED DISEASES (SOARD) will receive a timely review and will be notified within two months as to whether their work is accepted, rejected, or requires revision. Submit manuscripts to the SOARD Editorial Office via the Elsevier Editorial System (EES) website for this journal; go to http://ees.elsevier.com/SOARD and select "Submit Manuscript". All correspondence regarding submitted manuscripts will be handled via e-mail through EES. Send all other correspondence to:

Mrs. Angelica Kerr
Managing Editor
Elsevier
360 Park Ave. South
New York, NY 10010
Tel: 212-633-3957
Fax: 212-633-3913
E-mail: soard@elsevier.com

A COMPLETED CHECKLIST FORM MUST ACCOMPANY EACH MANUSCRIPT SUBMITTED TO SOARD. DOWNLOAD THE CHECKLIST HERE. CHECK ALL ITEMS APPLICABLE TO YOUR SUBMISSION.

Manuscripts should be prepared in accordance with the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals, available at: http://www.icmje.org . Studies in humans require approval from the local Institutional Review Board (IRB) and in animals from the Animal Care and Use Committee. All clinical trials must be registered in the National Institutes of Health web site: www.clincaltrials.gov. or one of the equivalent web sites such as: http://www.anzctr.org.au; http://www.clinicaltrials.gov; http://isrctn.org http://www.trialregister.nl/trialreg/index.asp; or http://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr. This information must be stated in both the Cover Letter and the Materials and Methods section of the manuscript.

Previous Publication or Duplicate Submission:
Manuscripts are considered with the understanding that they have not been published previously in print or electronic format and are not under consideration by another publication or electronic medium. Copies of possibly duplicative materials (ie, those containing substantially similar content or using the same or similar data) that have been previously published or are being considered elsewhere must be provided at the time of manuscript submission.

Previous Presentation or Release of Information:
A complete report following presentation at a meeting or publication of preliminary findings elsewhere (e.g. an abstract) can be considered. Media coverage of meeting presentations will not jeopardize consideration, but direct release of information through press releases or news media briefings may preclude consideration by SOARD.

Authorship:
Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content. One or more authors should take responsibility for the integrity of the work as a whole, from inception to publication. Authorship credit should be based on (1) substantial contributions to conception and design; (2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and (3) final approval of the version to be published. All conditions must be met. Authors are required to identify their contributions to the work described in the manuscript. Original articles should have no more than 6 authors and Case Reports no more than 3 authors unless there is a strong justification for listing more. Multicenter studies are not limited by this rule.

Conflict of Interest:
All authors must disclose any conflict of interest they may have with an institution or product that is mentioned in the manuscript and/or is important to the outcome of the study presented. This would include funding for the research, membership in any speaker's bureau or corporate advisory committee, stockholder, or support for travel (click here to see entire list). Authors should also disclose conflict of interest with products that compete with those mentioned in their manuscript. The Editor will discuss with the authors on an individual basis the method by which any conflicts of interest will be communicated to readers. Manuscripts without conflicts of interest disclosure from all authors will be returned.

Language Editing Services (For a Fee)
Elsevier is pleased to offer SOARD authors the opportunity to have their submissions reviewed by a language editing service prior to submission. Our language editors are PhDs or PhD candidates. All are native English speakers with excellent communication skills. To meet our demanding requirements, they undergo extensive training and have frequent performance reviews. Interested authors can take advantage of this service via the following link: http://webshop.elsevier.com/languageediting. Authors are directly responsible for all incurred fees.

SOARD publishes the following types of articles in addition to standard research manuscripts:

1. RAPID COMMUNICATION ARTICLES: Manuscripts that are extremely timely, of utmost importance, and which the Editor deems warrant rapid publication. These manuscripts will be reviewed by two expert consultants within 48 hours and the authors will receive notification of the status within 72 hours. Accepted manuscripts will be published in the next available issue of SOARD. The submission/processing fee for a Rapid Communication Article is $300. Payment may be made via credit card or check (please make checks payable to Elsevier, Inc.). Payment must accompany the submission for the manuscript to be reviewed. Manuscripts that the Editorial Board believes do not warrant rapid communication will have the submission fee returned giving the authors the choice to have the manuscript continue with the standard SOARD review process. Submission fees for manuscripts processed as a Rapid Communication not found acceptable for publication will NOT be refunded. Please note that this opportunity is for RAPID COMMUNICATION of important timely findings and does not represent a means to obtain a RAPID REVIEW.
2. IMAGES IN OBESITY SURGERY: Concise, one-page pictorial description of a unique case will be published as space permits. No more than three authors may represent each submission.
3. SURGEON AT WORK: Short, concise articles plus photos and/or drawings on: "How I do it" techniques will be published as space permits.
4. CASE REPORTS: SOARD will only consider non-video case reports if they will be of GREAT IMPORTANCE to the field of bariatric surgery. Video case reports will continue to receive high priority. SOARD cannot continue to publish the large number of case reports which it receives. Authors are invited to submit case reports to Elsevier's new online-only, open-access title International Journal of Surgery Case Reports. Following peer-review, authors of accepted case reports pay a publication fee to make their work freely available to all online. For more details, please visit http://www.casereports.com/. In the rare instance in which a Case Report is accepted, it needs to conform to the following Guidelines: it must contain an Introduction, Case Presentation and Management and Discussion without an abstract. There can be no more than 3 co-authors for any case report.
5. REVIEW ARTICLES: This comprehensive review-type article covers timely bariatric surgery topics of clinical relevance and must be well-referenced. These articles should serve as a source on a clinically useful subject for the practicing bariatric surgeon, primary care physician, nutritionist, psychiatric specialist, obesity investigator and resident or fellow-in-training of current information.
6. UPDATES: This shorter review-type article covers current obesity topics of clinical relevance.
7. EDITORIALS/PAIRED EDITORIALS: These will be solicited by the Editor and should not be submitted without prior written approval.
8. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Short communications regarding recent articles or comments on timely topics in letter form that should be supported by relevant references. Authors of the cited article will have the opportunity to read and reply to the letter. ALL LETTERS TO THE EDITOR must be submitted within one month of the publishing date of the cited article. Letters if accepted will be published as space permits.
9. CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES: These are articles dealing with controversial topics such as: Is bariatric surgery appropriate in patients with schizophrenia or bi-polar disorders? Which should come first in the morbidly obese patient with chronic renal failure: renal transplant or bariatric surgery? How do you manage the patient with an anatomically intact, non-obstructive Roux-en-Y gastric bypass who "can't eat"? They can be associated with a case report or just present a philosophical or reasoned medical approach. Subsequent "letters to the editor" will be welcome.
10. ALLIED HEALTH ARTICLES: A section for Allied Health manuscripts will be published periodically during the year. These manuscripts should be related to nursing, nutritional, exercise and psychological issues relevant to bariatric surgery.

Editorial Process
PEER REVIEW: Manuscripts will be reviewed by internationally recognized experts on the subject. When relevant, a biostatistician, radiologist, psychological specialist, nutritionist, or pathologist consultant will also review the manuscript. The reviewers will be blinded to the names of the authors and the institution and country from which the manuscript has been sent. Reviewers will be asked to list all current Conflicts of Interest (click here to see entire list) and comment if any of these or other conflicts are associated with the manuscript you are being asked to review.

Submission Process
Manuscripts must be submitted via the Elsevier Editorial System (EES) website for this journal; go to http://ees.elsevier.com/SOARD and select "Submit Manuscript". You will be guided stepwise through the creation and uploading of the various files and data. Once the uploading is done, the system automatically generates an electronic (PDF) proof, which is then used for reviewing. All correspondence regarding submitted manuscripts will be handled via e-mail through EES. The article must be typed in 12-point type, double-spaced with one-inch margins (with all pages numbered consecutively) and line numbers inserted at every 5 lines. The file should follow the general instructions on style/arrangement, and, in particular, the reference style. The file should use the wrap-around end-of-line feature, i.e. returns at the end of the paragraph only. Place two returns after every element, such as title, headings, paragraph. Please do NOT use any automatically generated numbering or bulleting systems or hidden text (e.g. For references, footnotes, lists). Unless specifically indicated in the various categories listed, each manuscript must contain an Abstract and Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions and References sections, with the appropriate subheading preceding each section.

The title should be brief, informative, of 150 characters or less and should not make a statement or conclusion. The running title should consist of not more than 50 letters and spaces. It should be as brief as possible, convey the essential message of the paper and contain no abbreviations.

Structured Abstracts should be 250 words or less and divided into five sections with the subheadings: (1) Background (2) Objectives, (3) Setting (i.e. University Hospital, United States; Private Practice), (4) Methods, (5) Results, and (6) Conclusions.

Using lower-case superscript letters, link each author with the appropriate affiliation. Measurements of length, height, weight and volume should be reported in metric units. Weight loss should be reported in kg lost, BMI reduction, percent weight lost and percent excess weight lost with excess weight defined as that above the median weight for height in the Metropolitan Life Insurance tables. Laboratory data should be reported in both the local and International System of Units (SI). Manuscripts must be accompanied by a cover letter, which should include a statement about submissions that might be regarded as redundant publication, a statement about financial or other relationships that might lead to a conflict of interest, a statement that the manuscript has been read and approved by all authors, and contact information for the corresponding author. Include the full names, degrees and affiliations of all authors on the title page and upload separately from the manuscript. Do not include any author contact information within the manuscript. Please also include key words with your submission. Manuscripts with incorrect format or that are over maximum length will be returned unreviewed for modifications (see table for correct format/length).

TABLES: Each table should be counted as 250 words toward the final word count. Tables should supplement, not duplicate the text/figures. The tables must be numbered and cited in order as they first appear in the text, and each must have a precise heading the understanding of which does not require reference to the text. Do not imbed tables with the text.

ILLUSTRATIONS: Each figure should be counted as 250 words toward the final word count. Color figures are welcomed, and will appear in color on the web at no extra charge; however, there is a charge, paid in advance, for the reproduction of color illustrations in print ($650 for the first color figure and $100 for each additional color figure) unless waved by the Editor and Publisher. Alternatively, the illustrations can be reproduced in print in black and white at no extra charge. All illustrations must supplement, not duplicate the tables/text. Figures must clearly convey their message and be of high quality and of sufficient size and clarity (especially lettering, arrows, and data points) to be interpretable when reduced for publication. Shading does not always reproduce well. Consider using widely spaced cross-hatching patterns, for example, that will remain distinct on reduction. Use black and white arrows, depending on the background color. All illustrations must be numbered and cited in order as they first appear in the text. Concise legends (typed on a separate page) must accompany each illustration and adequately describe the figure without the need to reference to the text. Do not embed artwork with text; illustrations should be supplied as separate files. Guidelines for submitting your illustrations in an electronic format can be found at http://ees.elsevier.com/SOARD

VIDEO/COMPUTER GRAPHICS: An original, edited CD-ROM in IBM compatible PC format will be the standard format for submission of videos and computer graphics (i.e., slide presentations with or without animation). SOARD will not edit any video or computer graphics, but reviewers, following the usual policy with illustrations, may suggest changes in the video or computer graphic. A sound track is highly recommended. Maximum cumulative length of videos or computer graphics is 8 minutes, and may be divided into several smaller clips not to exceed 8 minutes in total. If the video or animation is divided into several clips, each clip should be identified at the beginning of the section: e.g., Video Clip 1 or Graphic 1, and on the CD-ROM. Several videos/graphics may be on the same CD-ROM, but if they are separate clips, the separation must be clearly identified. For ease of download, files should not exceed 10 MB. Any size over this limit may prevent viewers from successfully viewing the video. Concise legends (typed on a separate page) must accompany each video clip or computer graphic presentation. The following formats for video will be accepted: MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 (.mpg), Quicktime (.mov), Audio/Video Interface (.avi) or Compuserve GIF (.gif). Please contact the publisher about the use of other formats. A graphic will be used to indicate the location of a video clip or computer graphic. Videos/computer graphics for accepted manuscripts will not be returned. Videos and computer graphics will not be accepted separately from a manuscript that has been rejected. If the article is accepted for publication, the video will be digitized and permanently archived on the SOARD website ( http://ees.elsevier.com/SOARD ). The location of the video on the World Wide Web will be linked with the online version of the article.

PERMISSION: Authors must submit written permission upon manuscript submission from both the author and publisher of the original source when material is reproduced from other sources. This permission must include reproduction in both print and electronic formats for worldwide distribution.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Acknowledgement(s) require written permission of the person being acknowledged.

REFERENCES: References must be limited to those cited in the text, be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned, with their positions indicated in the text by a superscript Arabic number. Any authors beyond six will be replaced by et al. References to articles in press must state journal name and year. Personal Communications will not be included in the reference list and should be accompanied with written verification and be noted within the text. Authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of their references and for correct text citation.

For journal articles: Surname and initials of author(s). If 6 or fewer authors, all authors need to be listed. If more than 6, then list the first 3 followed by "et al." Title of article. Name of Journal, year; volume: first and last pages. For example:
1. Fetner R, McGinty J, Russell C, Pi-Sunyer FX, Laferrere B. Incretins, diabetes, and bariatric surgery: a review. Surg Obes Rel Dis 2005;1:589-99.
2. Nguyen NT, Goldman C, Rosenquist CJ, et al. Laparoscopic versus open gastric bypass: a randomized study of outcomes, quality of life, and costs. Ann Surg 2001;234:279-89

For Books: Surname and initials of author(s), title and subtitle, edition (other than first). City, publishing house, year, and pages as specific reference, as follows:
1. Mason EE. Surgical Treatment of Obesity. Philadelphia, London, Toronto, W.B. Saunders Company, 1981 pp 1-493.

For articles or chapters in books: Surname and initials of author(s), title of article/chapter, surname and initials of editor, title of book. City, publishing house, year, and pages, as follows:
1. Brolin RE, Metabolic postoperative complications after bariatric surgery. In Martin LF (ed), Obesity Surgery, New York, McGraw-Hill, 2004, pp 275-300.

PROOFS: To avoid publication delay, authors must return proofs in 48 hours.

RESPONSIBILITY: Manuscripts are subject to editorial modification to bring them into conformity with the style of the journal. Statements in articles or opinions expressed by any contributor in any article, including changes made by the copy editor and approved by the corresponding author, are not the responsibility of the editors or the publishers.


*Unless a multicenter study

*Number of figures/tables are up to authors' discretion; however, each figure/table (or composite figures/tables) should be counted as 250 words toward the final word count.



Updated November 2011