Submissions

Author Guidelines

Checklists before submission the article to The Thai Journal of Surgery download (pdf)

INFORMATION FOR AUTHORS     download (pdf)

Manuscripts submitted for publication should be sent via online submission through https://www.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/ThaiJSurg/index

Manuscripts

Manuscripts should be typewritten on size A4 paper only with double spacing and at least one inch margins. Separate pages: title page, text, acknowledgments, references, individual tables, abstract in Thai, and legends (as the format in this journal). Number pages consecutively, beginning with the title page. Type the page number in the upper right-hand corner of each page. Metric measurements should be used. Generic names for drugs should be used and if trade name is mentioned, it should be put in parenthesis.
The title page of the manuscript should be typed on a separate sheet and should contain the following information :

1. Title of the paper
2. Name of Author(s), including first name(s) with academic degree(s)
3. Name of department and institution in which the work was done
4. Index word(s)
5. Short running title
6. Sources of funding, if any
7. Declaration that the manuscript has been proofread by the Journal’s recommended Proofreading Service

Illustrations and Tables

All photographs and original drawing should be professionally made or drawn and uploaded as jpeg, png, tiff files with at least 300 ppi resolution. Typewritten or freehand lettering is not acceptable. Illustration should be numbered along with an appropriate description (legend/caption). Each table should be prepared on a separate sheet and should be numbered consecutively as mentioned in the text and each must have a title. All tables should be typed directly on the page using the table function in Microsoft Word and not copied and pasted. All columns must be in separated cells, but related rows in any column can be in the same cell. Otherwise it is best to have 1 cell per item (name or number). Abbreviations in the table must be defined, either in the table or in a footnote to the table. See also the format for a concise example (TJS Template_Research Articles).

References

References must be listed on a separate sheet in numeric order as referred to in the article, not alphabetically. A simplified Vancouver system is used. Only references mentioned in the text should be listed and should be selective with no more than 30 references except under unusual circumstances. Number references consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text. Identify references in text, tables, and legends by Arabic numerals (in superscript). The references must be verified by the author(s) against the original documents.
Example forms of references are given below.

1. Standard Journal Article :
   List all authors when three or less; when four or more, list only first three and add et al.
   Soter NA, Wasserman SI, Austen KF. Cold urticaria: release into the circulation of histamine and eosinophil chemotactic factor of anaphylaxis during cold challenge. N Engl J Med 1976; 294:687-90.
2. Corporate Author :
   • The Committee on Enzymes of the Scandinavian Society for Clinical Chemistry and Clinical Physiology. Recommended method for the determination of gamma glutamyltransferase in blood. Scand J Clin Lab Invest 1976; 36:119-25.
   • American medical Association Department of Drugs. AMA drug evaluations. 3rd ed. Littleton: Publishing Sciences Group, 1977.

3. Personal Author (s) :
   Osler AG. Complement: mechanisms and functions. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice - Hall, 1976.
4. Editor, Compiler, Chairman as Author :
   Rhooder AJ, Van Rooyen CE, comps. Textbook of virology: for students and practitioners of medicine and the other health sciences. 5th ed. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1968.
5. Chapter in a Book :
   Weinstein L, Swartz MN. Pathogenic properties of invading microorganisms. In: Sodeman WA Jr. Sodeman WA, eds. Pathologic physiology: mechanisme of disease. Philadelphia: WB Saunders, 1974:457-72.
6. Agency Publication :
   National Center for Health Statistics. Acute conditions: incidence and associated disability, United States, July 1968-June1969. Rockville. Md.: National Center for Health statistics, 1972. Vital and health statistics. Series 10: Data from the National health Survey, No. 69 : (DHEW publication no. (HSM) 72-1036).
7. Newspaper Article :
   Shaffer RA. Advances in chemistry are starting to unlock mysteries of the brain: discoveries could help cure alcoholism and insomnia, explain mental illness. How the messengers work. Wall Street Journal 1977 Aug 12:(col. 1), 10(col.1).
8. Magazine Article :
   Roueche B. Annals of medicine: the Santa Claus culture. The New Yorker 1971 Sep 4:66-81.
9. The use of the article’s Digital Object Identifier (DOI) :An article can be referenced using the only the DOI for electronic Journals and online articles or the DOI can be used in addition to standard referencing to print articles.
   • Chirappapha P, Arunnart M, Lertsithichai P, et al. Evaluation the effect of preserving intercostobrachial nerve in axillary dissection for breast cancer patient. Gland Surg 2019.doi:10.21037/gs.2019.10.06.
   • Chirappapha P, Arunnart M, Lertsithichai P, et al. Evaluation the effect of preserving intercostobrachial nerve in axillary dissection for breast cancer patient. Gland Surg 2019;8:599-608.doi:10.21037/gs.2019.10.06.

Abbreviations

Use only standard abbreviations of commonly used approved abbreviations. Avoid abbreviations in the title. The full term for which an abbreviation stands should precede its first use in the text unless it is a standard unit ofmeasurement.

Statistics

All statistical analyses and the statistical software used must be concisely described. Descriptive statistics for quantitative variables must include an appropriate central tendency measure (e.g., mean or median) as well as a corresponding measure of spread (e.g., standard deviation or range or interquartile range). Categorical variables must be summarized in terms of frequency (counts) and percentage for each category. Ordinal variables can be summarized in terms of frequency and percentage, or as quantitative variables when appropriate. Statistical tests must be named and p-values provided to 3 decimal places. P-values less than 0.001 should be written “< 0.001” and p-values approaching 1 should be written “0.999”.

All statistical estimates (e.g., mean differences, odds ratios, risk ratios, hazard ratios, regression coefficients, and so on) must have corresponding 95% confidence interval limits. All statistical models used must be briefly described. Uncommon or unusual methods used should be referenced. Authors should refrain from over-modeling their dataset; for example, multivariable analyses of datasets with small sample size (e.g., < 100), or few outcomes (e.g. < 10), could be unreliable. Relative risks of categories in a categorical risk factor should be compared to its own reference category, which must be indicated, for example, in a table of multivariable analysis.

Randomized controlled trials should be analyzed using the intention-to-treat principle, and as-treated analysis should be applied as well if there are significant cross-overs. Further details of statistical issues are available here ( http://www.icmje.org/icmje-recommendations.pdf ).

Standards of Reporting for Research Articles

Authors are advised that the Thai Journal of Surgery adheres to standards set by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Reporting guidelines that authors should consult and follow include the CONSORT Guidelines for randomized controlled trials; PRISMA Guidelines for systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials, MOOSE Guidelines for systematic reviews and metanalysis of observational studies; STROBE Guidelines for observational studies; and ARRIVE Guidelines for animal research. Details of these and other guidelines can be obtained from https://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/ .

Common Format for Research Articles (see Format TJS Template_Research Articles)

Abstract: should be no more than 300 words in length, and written in a structured format, including the following headings: Objective, which can include some background material of 1 to 2 sentences in length, but mainly describing the research question; Methods, concisely describing the research design and data procurement; Results, describing the main findings of the study; and Conclusion, which should concisely answer the research question, and no more. Below the abstract, a list of keywords should be provided.

Main text: should be written in a structured format, including the following headings. Introduction should describe the rationale of the study within the context of current knowledge; the gap in knowledge with which the research study will fill must be clearly pointed out and a research question explicitly stated. Methods (and patients, if applicable) should clearly describe the details of research methodology and patient or research volunteer recruitment according to Guidelines for each type of research as listed above (https://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/), and how the data was collected and analyzed. A short description of statistics used, and the software and references if appropriate, must be provided. A note on Ethics Committee approval, if applicable, must be given. Results should include data or summaries of patient or volunteer characteristics, summaries of risk factors or covariates and outcomes, presented in tabular, graphical or descriptions in the text as appropriate, without significantly duplicating one another. Results of statistical analyses must be clearly displayed and should include point estimates, standard errors, statistical tests, p-values, and 95% confidence intervals. Analyses not shown but referred to must not change the conclusions or outcomes. Discussion, which must fully describe the implications of the research results, should include a concise literature review of previous published, related results. These related results must be compared with those of the authors’ study, and the differences clearly stated along with plausible explanations. New unexpected findings, especially from subgroup analyses or those for which the research was not designed, should be considered hypothetical and stated as such. Any plausible, relevant clinical application should be indicated. Finally, any significant limitations of the study must be mentioned and possible extensions of research should be briefly provided. Conclusion, which should be concerned with answering the research question posed by the current study, should not be summarizing results of previous studies or recommendations.  An Acknowledgement section can be added at the end of the article. The Reference list should be in the format as described previously.

Basic Science and Translational Research

Use the common format. Emphasis is on clinician comprehension. The Abstract uses the same common structured format. In the Main text, the Introduction, in addition to the usual context-setting and rationale, should also contain explanations and descriptions of basic science concepts at the level of the educated layman. The Methods section should still be concise with sufficient detail for others to replicate the experiment, but one or two paragraphs in between explaining basic processes in plain English would be helpful. In the Results section, similar conciseness is still the rule, but a brief simplified summary of the findings should be provided. In the Discussion, clinical implications should be clearly stated. The Conclusion, again, should answer the research question.

Case Series and Case Reports

We encourage publication of case series or case reports if a comprehensive review of the literature is included, with the aim of helping the clinician manage rare and challenging diseases or conditions based on best available evidence in conjunction with practical, local experience. For the Thai Journal of Surgery, this implies that the case report format differs somewhat from that of the common format for research articles.

Abstract: Need not be structured. State objective of the case presentation, present a summary of the case, the outcome and learning points in one concise paragraph.

Main text: An Introduction is required to set the importance or relevance of the case within the current clinical context, based on a comprehensive literature review. A brief review of anatomy and pathology, or pathophysiology can be provided. Report of the case then follows with sufficient details on clinical presentation, diagnostic work up, interesting features, and decision making, to be useful for other surgeons. Surgical management should be concisely described, and should be accompanied by high-resolution photographs or high-quality drawings and diagrams, if possible. Unique features of the case, and typical or general features should be distinguished. Results of management and follow-up information should be provided. Discussion then places the clinical, diagnostic, surgical and pathological features of the case within current knowledge or context and provides reasons for decision making and surgical management or otherwise. Wider implications of the case should be emphasized; for example, when management contradicts existing guidelines or when feasibility of some never-before performed surgery has been demonstrated. The Conclusion simply summarizes the case in terms of management implications.

Narrative Review Articles.

Abstract: No structure is required. A description of the aims of the article and contents should be sufficient.

Main text: An Introduction serves to set the rationale or objective of the review. While systematic reviews focus on narrow research questions with aims of obtaining generalizable knowledge, the narrative review is education-based. The main content can be structured in anyway as is necessary for adequate comprehension. Finally, a Conclusion summarizes the content in greater detail than the abstract, emphasizing recent developments or future research.

Special Articles.

Special articles are often solicited and may have no standard structure. But some structure will aid understanding or entice readers.

Abstract. A brief description of aims and content is sufficient.

Main text. An Introduction to set the aims of the article. The main content can be structured in any way. A Conclusion to summarize the content should be helpful, as well as to place some personal reflections.

Surgical Techniques.

Abstract. A short description of what the techniques is about.

Main text. Description of the technique in sufficient detail such that a trained surgeon can perform the technique on his or her own. Good illustrations of the technique, step-by-step if possible, should be provided, in high-resolution photographs or well-executed drawings, or both.

Checking for Plagiarism and English Language Editing

The Thai Journal of Surgery policy on plagiarism and important notice for authors. The Thai Journal of Surgery takes the issue of plagiarism seriously. We have employed the services of the Akarawisut Plagiarism Detection (www.akarawisut.com) algorithm from Chulalongkorn University. All submitted manuscripts will undergo plagiarism checking prior to publication in the Journal. Authors must agree to this policy prior to submitting their manuscripts for publication. The results of plagiarism checking will be reported to all authors and coauthors as well as relevant authorities according to international guidelines.

Resources for English Language editing. The Thai Journal of Surgery suggests several vendors or individuals who will provide English Language Editing service for Authors of the Journal. These service providers are listed below. It is strongly recommended that Authors consider English editing by professional language editors if the manuscript has been marked as “English Editing Required” by the Journal. Recommended editing services and contact details can be obtained by emailing to rcst.tjs@gmail.com or Journal.TJS@gmail.com with a request for “English editing services”. 

Article Processing Charge (APCs)
There is no article processing charge. The Thai Journal of Surgery does not charge authors for submission, article processing, or publication fees.