HAND

HAND is an internationally peer-reviewed journal that publishes articles written by clinicians and researchers detailing current research and clinical work in the field of hand surgery. Combining multidisciplinary expertise from surgical, medical, hand therapy, and other health care professional specialties, HAND publishes original clinical and basic science articles, comprehensive critical reviews and unique case reports related to the management of pathologies in the hand and upper extremity. This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics.

There are no fees payable to submit or publish in this Journal. Open Access options are available - see section 3.2 below.

HAND is the publication and official journal of the American Association for Hand Surgery and the official journal of the Romanian Society for Surgery of the Hand.

Submission of all items to HAND must be completed electronically via Sage Track.

1. What do we publish?
   1.1 Aims & Scope
   1.2 Article types
   1.3 Writing your paper
   1.3.1 Make your article discoverable
2. Editorial policies
   2.1 Peer review policy
   2.2 Authorship
   2.3 Acknowledgements
   2.4 Funding
   2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests
   2.6 Research ethics and patient consent
   2.7 Statement of animal and human rights
   2.8 Registering clinical trials
3. Publishing policies
   3.1 Contributor's publishing agreement
   3.2 Open access and author archiving
   3.3 Publication ethics
   3.3.1 Plagiarism
   3.3.2 Prior publication
4. Preparing your manuscript
   4.1 General formatting
   4.2 Article types, descriptions, length, formatting
   4.3 Multimedia article submission requirements
   4.4 English language editing services
5. Submitting your manuscript
   5.1 AAHSk
   5.2 ORCID
   5.3 Information required for completing your submission
   5.4 Permissions
6. On acceptance and publication
   6.1 Author proofs
   6.2 OnlineFirst publication
   6.3 Access to your published article
   6.4 Promoting your article
7. Further information

1. What do we publish?

1.1 Aims & Scope

Before submitting your manuscript to HAND, please ensure you have read the journal’s Aims & Scope.

1.2 Article Types

HAND accepts manuscripts in each of the following categories related to the management of pathologies in the hand and upper extremity.

• Original clinical and basic science research articles
• Comprehensive critical reviews (review articles, meta-analyses, and systematic reviews are all considered for publication)
• Case reports
• Letter to the Editor
• Commentary
• Multimedia articles

Manuscripts containing original material are accepted for consideration if neither the article nor any part of its essential substance, tables, or figures has been or will be published or submitted elsewhere before appearing in the Journal (in part or in full, in other words or in the same words, in English or in another language), and will not be submitted elsewhere unless rejected by the Journal or withdrawn by the author. If an author violates this requirement or engages in similar misconduct, the Journal’s Editorial Board may reject the manuscript or impose a moratorium on acceptance of new manuscripts from the author. If it deems the misconduct sufficiently serious, the Editorial Board can refer the matter for investigation to the author’s academic institution or hospital, to the appropriate state or local disciplinary body, and/or to the Ethics Committee of the society and publisher.

All published material becomes the sole property of the Journal, copyrighted by the American Association for Hand Surgery. By submitting an article, letter to the Editor, or brief communication, all authors agree to each of these conditions.

1.3 Writing your paper

The Sage Author Gateway has some general advice on how to get published, plus links to further resources.

Sage Author Services also offers authors a variety of ways to improve and enhance your article including English language editing, plagiarism detection, and video abstract and infographic preparation.

1.3.1 Make your article discoverable

For information and guidance on how to make your article more discoverable, visit our Gateway page on How to Help Readers Find Your Article Online.

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2. Editorial policies

2.1 Peer review policy

Manuscripts are accepted for consideration on the condition that they are contributed solely to HAND. No substantial part of a paper (except for a scientific abstract or poster) may have been published elsewhere. All work must be original to the author. Receipt of your manuscript by the journal will be acknowledged through the online Sage Track site and a decision regarding its status made as soon as possible. All manuscripts are subject to editorial review. Manuscripts will be initially reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief or an Associate Editor. Some manuscripts that are deemed inappropriate for the journal or very low priority by the editorial staff may be returned without review. If eligible for publication, the manuscript will be reviewed by two or more external reviewers with the final decision made by the Editor-in-Chief. Please note that all case report submissions are handled by the Editor-in-Chief and, due to very low acceptance rates, may receive less than two expert reviews. HAND follows double-anonymized peer review, where the author and reviewer identities are concealed.

The Editor or members of the Editorial Board may occasionally submit their own manuscripts for possible publication in the Journal. In these cases, the peer review process will be managed by alternative members of the Board and the submitting Editor/Board member will have no involvement in the decision-making process.

2.2 Authorship

This journal is committed to upholding the integrity of the scientific record. As a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) the journal will follow the COPE guidelines on how to deal with potential acts of misconduct.

Authors should refrain from misrepresenting research results which could damage the trust in the journal and ultimately the entire scientific endeavor. Maintaining integrity of the research and its presentation can be achieved by following the rules of good scientific practice, which includes:

• The manuscript has not been submitted to more than one journal for simultaneous consideration.
• The manuscript has not been published previously (partly or in full), unless the new work concerns an expansion of previous work (please provide transparency on the re-use of material to avoid the hint of text-recycling (“self-plagiarism”)).
• A single study is not split up into several parts to increase the quantity of submissions and submitted to various journals or to one journal over time (e.g., “salami-publishing”).
• No data have been fabricated or manipulated (including images) to support your conclusions.
• No data, text, or theories by others are presented as if they were the authors own (“plagiarism”). Proper acknowledgments to other works must be given (this includes material that is closely copied (near verbatim), summarized and/or paraphrased), quotation mark sare used for verbatim copying of material, and permissions are secured for material that is copyrighted. Important note: the journal may use software to screen for plagiarism.
• Consent to submit has been received from all co-authors and responsible authorities at the institute/organization where the work has been carried out before the work is submitted.
• Authors whose names appear on the submission have contributed sufficiently to the scientific work and therefore share collective responsibility and accountability for the results. This includes:
  • made a substantial contribution to the concept and design, acquisition of data or analysis and interpretation of data,
  • drafted the article or revised it critically for important intellectual content,
  • approved the version to be published,
  • agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Please refer to the ICMJE Authorship guidelines.

In addition:

• Changes of authorship or in the order of authors are not accepted after acceptance of a manuscript.
• Requests to add or delete authors at revision stage or after publication is a serious matter and may be considered only after receipt of written approval from all authors and detailed explanation about the role/deletion of the new/deleted author. The decision on accepting the change rests with the Editor-in-Chief of the journal.
• Upon request authors should be prepared to send relevant documentation or data in order to verify the validity of the results. This could be in the form of raw data, samples, records, etc.
• If there is a suspicion of misconduct, the journal will carry out an investigation following the COPE guidelines. If, after investigation, the allegation seems to raise valid concerns, the accused author will be contacted and given an opportunity to address the issue. If misconduct has been proven, this may result in the Editor-in-Chief’s implementation of the following measures, including, but not limited to:
  • If the article is still under consideration, it may be rejected and returned to the author.
  • If the article has already been published online, depending on the nature and severity of the infraction, either an erratum will be placed with the article or in severe cases complete retraction of the article will occur. The reason must be given in the published erratum or retraction note.
  • The author’s institution may be informed.

In order to qualify for authorship, the authors must meet the following conditions:

1. Authors must participate sufficiently in the intellectual content
2. Authors must participate sufficiently in the analysis of data (if applicable)
3. Authors must participate sufficiently in the writing of the manuscript

In addition, the authors certify that they have:

1. Reviewed the final version of the manuscript
2. Believe it represents valid work
3. Approve it for publication
4. Certify that none of the material in the manuscript has been previously published, is included in another manuscript, or is currently under consideration for publication elsewhere.
5. Certify that this article has not been accepted for publication elsewhere, nor have any rights or interests in the manuscript been assigned to any third party.
6. The data upon which the manuscript is based and will be able to produce it if the Editor of HAND requests it.

Please note that AI chatbots, for example ChatGPT, should not be listed as authors. For more information see the policy on Use of ChatGPT and generative AI tools.

2.3 Acknowledgements

All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an "Acknowledgements" section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, writing assistance, or a department chair who provided only general support. Authors should disclose whether they had any writing assistance and identify the entity that paid for this assistance. Individuals, other than authors, who were of direct help in the reported work should be acknowledged by a brief statement.

2.3.1 Writing assistance

Individuals who provided writing assistance (e.g., from a specialist communications company) do not qualify as authors and so should be included in the Acknowledgements section. Authors must disclose any writing assistance – including the individual’s name, company, and level of input – and identify the entity that paid for this assistance. It is not necessary to disclose use of language polishing services.

2.4 Funding

To comply with the guidance for Research Funders, Authors and Publishers issued by the Research Information Network (RIN), HAND additionally requires all Authors to acknowledge their funding in a consistent fashion under a separate heading. Please visit Funding Acknowledgments on the Sage Journal Author Gateway to confirm the format of the acknowledgment text in the event of funding or state in your acknowledgments that: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests

It is the policy of HAND to require a declaration of conflicting interests from all authors enabling a statement to be carried within the paginated pages of all published articles. Please include any declaration at the end of your manuscript after any acknowledgments and prior to the references, under a heading ‘Conflict of interests’ (see examples below). If no conflict of interest exists, please state that ‘The Author(s) declare(s) that there is no conflict of interest’. When making a declaration the disclosure information must be specific and include any financial relationship that all authors of the article have with any sponsoring organization and the for-profit interests the organization represents, and with any for profit product discussed or implied in the text of the article. Any commercial or financial involvements that might represent an appearance of a conflict of interest need to be additionally disclosed in the covering letter accompanying your article to assist the Editor in evaluating whether sufficient disclosure has been made within the Declaration of Conflicting Interests provided in the article.

For more information, please visit the Sage Journal Author Gateway.

Authors must disclose all relationships or interests that could influence or bias the work. Although an author may not feel there are conflicts, disclosure of relationships and interests affords a more transparent process, leading to an accurate and objective assessment of the work. Awareness of real or perceived conflicts of interests is a perspective to which the readers are entitled and is not meant to imply that a financial relationship with an organization that sponsored the research or compensation for consultancy work is inappropriate. Examples of potential conflicts of interests that are directly or indirectly related to the research may include but are not limited to the following:

• Research grants from funding agencies (please give the research funder and the grant number)
• Honoraria for speaking at symposia
• Financial support for attending symposia
• Financial support for educational programs
• Employment or consultation
• Support from a project sponsor
• Position on advisory board or board of directors or other type of management relationships
• Multiple affiliations
• Financial relationships, for example equity ownership or investment interest
• Intellectual property rights (e.g., patents, copyrights and royalties from such rights)
• Holdings of spouse and/or children that may have financial interest in the work

In addition, interests that go beyond financial interests and compensation (non-financial interests) that may be important to readers should be disclosed. These may include but are not limited to personal relationships or competing interests directly or indirectly tied to this research, or professional interests or personal beliefs that may influence your research.

The corresponding author collects the conflict-of-interest disclosure forms from all authors. In author collaborations where formal agreements for representation allow it, it is sufficient for the corresponding author to sign the disclosure form on behalf of all authors.

Examples of disclosure statements:

• Funding: This study was funded by X (grant number X).
• Conflict of Interest: Author A has received research grants from Company A. Author B has received a speaker honorarium from Company X and owns stock in Company Y. Author C is a member of committee Z.
• If no conflict exists, the authors should state: Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

2.6 Research ethics and patient consent

Authors are required to ensure the following guidelines are followed, as recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals. Patients have a right to privacy that should not be infringed without informed consent. Identifying information, including patients' names, initials, or hospital numbers, should not be published in written descriptions, photographs, and pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian) gives written informed consent for publication. Informed consent for this purpose requires that a patient who is identifiable be shown the manuscript to be published.

Identifying details (names, dates of birth, identity numbers and other information) should be omitted if they are not essential. Complete anonymity is difficult to achieve, however, and informed consent should be obtained if there is any doubt. For example, masking the eye region in photographs of patients is inadequate protection of anonymity. If identifying characteristics are altered to protect anonymity, such as in genetic pedigrees, authors should provide assurance that alterations do not distort scientific meaning and editors should so note. When informed consent has been obtained it should be indicated in the submitted article.

• The following statement should be included: Informed consent: “Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.”
• If identifying information about participants is available in the article, the following statement should be included: “Additional informed consent was obtained from all individual participants for whom identifying information is included in thisarticle.”

2.7 Statement of Animal and Human Rights

We accept manuscripts that report human and/or animal studies for publication only if it is made clear that investigations were carried out to a high ethical standard. Studies in humans which might be interpreted as experimental (e.g. controlled trials) should conform to the Declaration of Helsinki and typescripts must include a statement that the research protocol was approved by the appropriate ethical committee. In line with the Declaration of Helsinki 1975, revised Hong Kong 1989, we encourage authors to register their clinical trials (at http://clinicaltrials.gov or other suitable databases identified by the ICMJE). If your trial has been registered, please state this on the Title Page. When reporting experiments on animals, indicate on the Title Page which guideline/law (i.e., ARRIVE guidelines) on the care and use of laboratory animals was followed.

All papers reporting animal and human studies must include whether written consent was obtained from the local Ethics Committee or Institutional Review Board. Please ensure that you have provided the full name and institution of the review committee and an Ethics Committee reference number.

• For studies with human subjects, please include the following sentence: All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2008 (5). Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

If doubt exists whether the research was conducted in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration, the authors must explain the rationale for their approach, and demonstrate that the institutional review body explicitly approved the doubtful aspects of the study.

• If any identifying information about patients is included in the article, the following sentence should also be included: Additional informed consent was obtained from all patients for which identifying information is included in this article.
• For studies with animals, please include the following sentence: All institutional and national guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals were followed.
• For articles that do not contain studies with human or animal subjects: Authors must include the following sentence, so that readers are aware that there are no ethical issues with human or animal subjects: This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects.

2.8 Registering clinical trials

HAND requires all articles reporting results of clinical trials to be registered in a public trials registry that is in conformity with the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). All clinical trials, regardless of when they were completed, and secondary analyses of original clinical trials must be registered before submission of a manuscript based on the trial. Phase I trials designed to study pharmacokinetics or major toxicity are exempt.

Manuscripts reporting on clinical trials (as defined above) should indicate that the trials are registered and include the registry information on a separate page, immediately following the authors’ financial disclosure information. Required registry information includes trial registry name, registration identification number, and the URL for the registry.

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3. Publishing Policies

3.1 Contributor's publishing agreement

Before publication, Sage requires the author as the rights holder to sign a Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement. Sage’s Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement is an exclusive license agreement which means that the author retains copyright in the work but grants Sage the sole and exclusive right and license to publish for the full legal term of copyright. Exceptions may exist where an assignment of copyright is required or preferred by a proprietor other than Sage. In this case copyright in the work will be assigned from the author to the society. For more information, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions on the Sage Journal Author Gateway.

HAND and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. We seek to protect the rights of our authors and we always investigate claims of plagiarism or misuse of articles published in the journal. Equally, we seek to protect the reputation of the journal against malpractice. Submitted articles may be checked using duplication-checking software. Where an article is found to have plagiarized other work or included third-party copyright material without permission or with insufficient acknowledgment, or where authorship of the article is contested, we reserve the right to take action including, but not limited to: publishing an erratum or corrigendum (correction); retracting the article (removing it from the journal); taking up the matter with the head of department or dean of the author’s institution and/or relevant academic bodies or societies; banning the author from publication in the journal or all Sage journals, or appropriate legal action.

3.2 Open access and author archiving

HAND offers optional open access publishing via the Sage Choice programme and Open Access agreements, where authors can publish open access either discounted or free of charge depending on the agreement with Sage. Find out if your institution is participating by visiting Open Access Agreements at Sage. For more information on Open Access publishing options at Sage please visit Sage Open Access. For information on funding body compliance, and depositing your article in repositories, please visit Sage’s Author Archiving and Re-Use Guidelines and Publishing Policies.

3.3 Publication ethics

Sage is committed to upholding the integrity of the academic record. We encourage authors to refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics’ International Standards for Authors and view the Publication Ethics page on the Sage Author Gateway.

3.3.1 Plagiarism

HAND and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. We seek to protect the rights of our authors and we always investigate claims of plagiarism or misuse of published articles. Equally, we seek to protect the reputation of the Journal against malpractice. Submitted articles may be checked with duplication-checking software. Where an article, for example, is found to have plagiarized other work or included third-party copyright material without permission or with insufficient acknowledgement, or where the authorship of the article is contested, we reserve the right to take action including, but not limited to: publishing an erratum or corrigendum (correction); retracting the article; taking up the matter with the head of department or dean of the author's institution and/or relevant academic bodies or societies; or taking appropriate legal action.

3.3.2 Prior publication

If material has been previously published it is not generally acceptable for publication in a Sage journal. However, there are certain circumstances where previously published material can be considered for publication. Please refer to the guidance on the Sage Author Gateway or if in doubt, contact the Editor at the address given below.

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4. Preparing your manuscript for submission

4.1 General Formatting

HAND follows the American Medical Association (AMA) style. Please refer to the AMA Manual of Style 10th Edition. Please type manuscripts (including references) double-spaced with one-inch-wide margins, on one side of 21.5 x 28 cm (8 1/2 x 11 inch) paper. All submissions must contain continuous line and page numbering. Manuscripts without line and page numbering will be returned to the authors for immediate revision. The manuscript must be organized in the order indicated below.

1. Title Page: The Title Page must be uploaded as a separate document and not included in the anonymized manuscript text.

*All information below is required to be on your Title Page. If any information is missing, your submission will be returned to you for correction.

• Title of the article
• Author list. Include first and last names for each contributing author [first name, middle initial(s), surname, degree(s)]. Please ensure the accuracy of the author order, spelling, and appearance of all author names.
• For contributing authors, indicate the departmental and institutional affiliation(s) for each author.
• Corresponding Author must provide up-to-date email address and the complete mailing address (including city, state or province, and country) where the work was performed.
• At the bottom, indicate any Acknowledgements of Grant Support. All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an "Acknowledgements" section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, writing assistance, or a department chair who provided only general support. Authors should disclose whether they had any writing assistance and identify the entity that paid for this assistance. Individuals, other than authors, who were of direct help in the reported work should be acknowledged by a brief statement.

2. Main Manuscript Structure

Structured abstract (for Original Manuscripts). On the first page of the main manuscript document, include a structured abstract of not more than 250 words. The abstract should be written under the headings: Background, Methods, Results and Conclusions and should not cite any references. The first time an abbreviated term is used, spell it out in full and follow with the abbreviation in parentheses (e.g., ultrasound (US)). Abstracts for Case Reports and Reviews should not be structured and may not exceed 200 words.

Main Text. Must contain continuous line numbers and page numbers. Organize the text into an Introductory section that conveys the background and purpose of the report, and then into sections titled “Materials and Methods,” “Results,” and “Discussion.” When required by the nature of the report, manuscripts that do not follow this specific format may be accepted. (Additional details for main manuscript preparation for each article type can found further down.)

Statements. Every manuscript must have the following statements included in the main manuscript text before the References. A manuscript missing any of the statements will be returned for correction. Kindly note that this journal follows a double-anonymized policy and use only Author Initials when listing potential conflicts in the main document.

• Conflict of Interest Statement
• Statement of Informed Consent
• Statement of Human and Animal Rights
• Statement of Funding

References. Citations to references in the text should be identified by superscript numbers. References must be numbered consecutively in ascending order as they are cited. Once a reference is cited, all subsequent citations should be to the original number. References may not appear in your Reference List unless they have been cited in the text or tables. Papers that have been accepted for publication or are in press may be listed as references, but the Journal does not reference unpublished data and personal communications. Use the format for references according to the AMA Manual of Style 10th Edition. For each reference, show inclusive page ranges (e.g., 7-19).

In references to journal articles, please include:

1. surname and initials (without periods) of the first three authors and et al. for all others,
2. article title
3. abbreviated journal name
4. year
5. volume number
6. inclusive page numbers, in that order.

An example follows:

Honda T, Nozaki M, Isono N, et al. Endoscope-assisted facial fracture repair. World J. Surg 2001;25:1075-1083

In references to books, please include:

1. surname and initials (without periods) of the first three authors and et al. for all others,
2. chapter title, if any
3. editor(s), if any
4. title of book
5. city of publication
6. publisher
7. year published
8. inclusive page numbers. Volume and edition numbers, and name of translator should be included when appropriate.

Examples follow:

Harlan BJ, Starr A, Harwin FM. Anesthesia for cardiac surgery. Illustrated Handbook of Cardiac Surgery, New York, Springer-Verlag, 1996;6-12

Jones MC, Smith RB. Treatment of gastric cancer. In Ford TL, editor, Cancer of the Digestive System, Berlin, Springer-Verlag, 1976;140-154

3. Tables

• Please ensure that tables are editable in either Word or Excel. Do not submit images of tables. Tables should be uploaded as separate files and not embedded in the manuscript.
• All tables are to be numbered using Arabic numerals.
• Tables should always be cited in text in consecutive numerical order.
• For each table, please supply a table heading.
• The table title should explain clearly and concisely the components of the table.
• Identify any previously published material by giving the original source in the form of a reference at the end of the table heading.
• Footnotes to tables should be indicated by superscript lowercase letters (or asterisks for significance values and other statistical data) and included beneath the table body.

4. Figures

• All figures are to be numbered using Arabic numerals.
• Figure parts should be denoted by lowercase letters in the captions and on the image files themselves.
• Figures should always be cited in text in consecutive numerical order.
• For each figure, please supply a figure caption at the end of the manuscript file.
• Make sure to identify all elements found in the figure in the caption.
• Identify any previously published material by giving the original source in the form of a reference at the end of the caption.
• Please ensure figures are in high resolution. Rasterized based files (e.g., TIF or JPEG) require a resolution of at least 300 dpi. Line art should be supplied with a minimum resolution of 800 dpi.
• Do not embed figures into the Word document. Figures should be submitted separately as TIF or JPEG for pictures containing no text or graphs, or EPS files for graphs and line arts (retaining quality when enlarging/zooming in).

5. Permissions

Authors are responsible for obtaining permission from copyright holders for reproducing any illustrations, tables, figures or lengthy quotations previously published elsewhere. For further information including guidance on fair dealing for criticism and review, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions on the Sage Journal Author Gateway.

Examples of material requiring permission from the copyright holder for both print and online formats:

• Photographs in which a person is identifiable must either have the face masked out or be accompanied by written permission for publication from the individual in the photograph.
• Text passages
• Illustrations or tables from other works.

Please be informed that we will not be able to refund any costs that may have occurred in order to receive these permissions from other publishers. Please be aware that some publishers do not grant electronic rights for free (an example is Thieme Publishers). In these cases we kindly ask you to use figures from other sources.

6. Supplemental Materials

Supplemental material is published electronically on the journal website and does not appear in the print version of the journal, but is readily accessed from the journal’s table of contents. In general, supplemental materials may include information that is of value but is not critical for readers to understand the main outcomes of the study, and may also include results that enhance or extend the findings.

Reference to supplemental material should be made in the main text of the paper (e.g., Supplemental Material, Supplemental Figure S1, Supplemental Table S1, Supplemental Video), and their legends/titles should be labeled in the same way. Supplemental Materials should be submitted in the final format for publication because Supplemental Materials are not typeset or edited by Sage and are not provided to the author for review with the page proofs. Figure size and formatting are as described above.

Any text that acts as Supplemental Material should be submitted separately as a Word doc or pdf and labeled “Supplemental Material.” Supplemental figures legends should be grouped and submitted as a separate Word doc or pdf. Any Supplemental tables must each fit on one page; larger tables should be divided. Supplemental tables should be single spaced and may include borders as needed for clarity, and the layout provided should be in the final form for publication.

Supplemental videos are also accepted in Quicktime, MPEG, and AVI. All video clips must be created with commonly used codecs, and the codec used should be noted in the supplementary material legend. Video files should be tested for playback before submission, preferably on computers not used for its creation, to check for any compatibility issues.

Sage will not host codec files, or be responsible for supporting video supplementary material, where the codec used is non-standard.

4.2 Article types, descriptions, length, formatting

1. Original Manuscript: Report of research conducted to increase the body of knowledge of a particular area of concern in hand or upper extremity injuries.

• Number of words/tables/figures
  • Should not exceed 3,500 word limit (excluding Abstract and References)
  • Submitted in an editable Word document
  • Contain continuous line numbering and page numbers, double-spaced
  • No more than 7 figures or tables. (Any figures beyond 7 should be designated as Supplemental Material.)
• Title Page
  • Title of the article
  • Author list. Include first and last names for each contributing author [first name, middle initial(s), surname, degree(s)]. Please ensure the accuracy of the author order, spelling, and appearance of all author names.
  • For all contributing authors, indicate the departmental and institutional affiliation(s) for each author.
  • Corresponding author must provide up-to-date email address and the complete mailing address (including the city, state or province, and country) where the work was performed.
  • At the bottom, indicate any Acknowledgments of Grant Support or other Acknowledgments
• Manuscript Format
  • Structured Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Discussions
  • Conclusions
  • Statements
  • References (not to exceed 40)
  • Figure(s)
• Peer Review
  • Initial review by the Editor-in-Chief or an Associate Editor. Some manuscripts that are deemed inappropriate for the journal or very low priority by the editorial staff may be returned without review. If eligible for publication, the manuscript will be reviewed by 2 or more external reviewers with the final decision made by the Editor-in-Chief.

2. Comprehensive Critical Reviews: A thorough review of the literature presenting new relevant information to the areas of hand and upper extremity injuries. Review articles, meta-analyses, and systematic reviews are all considered for publication.

• Number of words/tables/figures
  • Should not exceed 3,500 word limit (excluding Abstract and References)
  • Submitted in an editable Word document
  • Contain continuous line numbering and page numbers, double-spaced
  • No more than 5 figures or tables. (Any figures beyond 5 should be designated as Supplemental Material.)
• Title Page
  • Title of the article
  • Author list. Include first and last names for each contributing author [first name, middle initial(s), surname, degree(s)]. Please ensure the accuracy of the author order, spelling, and appearance of all author names.
  • For all contributing authors, indicate the departmental and institutional affiliation(s) for each author.
  • Corresponding author must provide up-to-date email address and the complete mailing address (including the city, state or province, and country) where the work was performed.
  • At the bottom, indicate any Acknowledgments of Grant Support or other Acknowledgments
• Manuscript Format
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Discussions
  • Conclusions
  • Statements
  • References (not to exceed 40)
  • Figure(s)
• Peer Review
  • Initial review by the Editor-in-Chief or an Associate Editor. Some manuscripts that are deemed inappropriate for the journal or very low priority by the editorial staff may be returned without review. If eligible for publication, the manuscript will be reviewed by 2 or more external reviewers with the final decision made by the Editor-in-Chief.

3. Case Reports: The presentation of a case that describes the signs, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of a patient. Case reports should be unique in nature and provide readers with educational insights and value.

*Limited Acceptance – All accepted Case Reports are now being published online only.

• Number of words/tables/figures
  • Should not exceed 2,000 word limit (excluding Abstract and References)
  • Submitted in an editable Word document
  • Contain continuous line numbering and page numbers, double-spaced
  • No more than 7 figures or tables
• Title Page
  • Title of the article
  • Author list. Include first and last names for each contributing author [first name, middle initial(s), surname, degree(s)]. Please ensure the accuracy of the author order, spelling, and appearance of all author names.
  • For all contributing authors, indicate the departmental and institutional affiliation(s) for each author.
  • Corresponding author must provide up-to-date email address and the complete mailing address (including the city, state or province, and country) where the work was performed.
  • At the bottom, indicate any Acknowledgments of Grant Support or other Acknowledgments
• Manuscript Format
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Discussions
  • Conclusions
  • Statements
  • References (not to exceed 20)
  • Figure(s)
• Peer Review
  • Initial review by the Editor-in-Chief or an Associate Editor. Some manuscripts that are deemed inappropriate for the journal or very low priority by the editorial staff may be returned without review. If eligible for publication, the manuscript will be reviewed by 2 or more external reviewers with the final decision made by the Editor-in-Chief.

4. Letter to the Editor: Comments on a published manuscript to expand on or clarify a particular subject of interest.

• Number of words/tables/figures
  • Should not exceed 500 word limit (excluding References)
  • Submitted in an editable Word document
  • Contain continuous line numbering and page numbers, double-spaced
  • No more than 2 figures or tables.
• Title Page
  • Title of the article
  • Author list. Include first and last names for each contributing author [first name, middle initial(s), surname, degree(s)]. Please ensure the accuracy of the author order, spelling, and appearance of all author names.
  • For all contributing authors, indicate the departmental and institutional affiliation(s) for each author.
  • Corresponding author must provide up-to-date email address and the complete mailing address (including the city, state or province, and country) where the work was performed.
  • At the bottom, indicate any Acknowledgments of Grant Support or other Acknowledgments
• Manuscript Format
  • Unstructured format (no abstract required)
  • No more than 5 relevant references
• Peer Review
  • Decision made at the discretion of the HAND Editor-in-Chief.

4.3 Multimedia article submission requirements

Multimedia articles are papers where the video is the heart of the article. The video should contain the original content of the article and the text should be used to supplement the video.

For multimedia articles, the text will be published in the print version of the Journal and both the text and video will be published in the electronic version of the Journal. The text of the multimedia article should contain a clear reference to the video available electronically and consist of the following:

• Abstract (please follow the instructions for abstract organization in the section above)
• A brief, bulleted list giving an overview of the main points contained within the video
• A reference list if needed (please follow the instructions for reference organization in the section above)

The author(s) will be required to submit the video in the following format:

• Video clips should not exceed 9 minutes
• Multimedia file for review and submission: submit videos as either .mp4 or .mov
• All narration should be in English

Please follow the manuscript and title page formatting instructions found in the "Manuscript Organization" section above when submitting the manuscript.

4.4 English language editing services

Authors who want to refine the use of English in their manuscripts might consider utilizing the services of Sage Language Services, which provides editing services to authors. Sage Language Services specializes in editing and correcting English-language manuscripts written by authors with a primary language other than English.

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5. Submitting your manuscript

Manuscripts are submitted to HAND online via ScholarOne. This will allow for quick and efficient processing of your manuscript. Please log directly onto the ScholarOne site and upload your manuscript files following the instructions provided on the screen.

Please note: If you have already registered on ScholarOne, please use your provided username and password and log in as "Author" to track your manuscript or to submit a NEW manuscript. (Do not register again as you will then be unable to track your manuscript).

Otherwise, if you are a new author, please click the "Create Account" button and enter the requested information. Upon successful registration you will be sent an email with instructions to verify your registration.

5.1 AAHSk

The American Association for Hand Surgery (AAHS) facilitates a weekly quiz program, The Weekly AAHSk. Please submit a detailed and challenging question, five answer choices (of which one is the correct answer), and a brief, but detailed explanation related to your manuscript submission. If your article is selected for publication and your Q/A selected by the Weekly AAHSk team, AAHS will publish your Q/A by email and on social media linking back to your article published in HAND!

A high qualify Q/A submission may look like this:

For an acute scaphoid fracture stabilized with a single headless compression screw (HCS), what percentage of fracture union is necessary for the scaphoid-HCS construct to be at least as strong as the native scaphoid?

A. 90 – 100%
B. 70-80%
C. 50-60%
D. 30-40%
E. 10-20%

Answer: C - In a biomechanical study utilizing a cadaver model of a midline waist scaphoid fracture, a centrally placed HCS within a scaphoid with a 50% osteotomy had a higher mean load to failure to cantilever bending then an intact scaphoid.  This biomechanical study indicates that a scaphoid fracture with 50% union after single axial HCS fixation is stronger than the native scaphoid.

Ref:  Guss MS, Mitgang JT, Sapienza A. Scaphoid healing required for unrestricted activity: a biomechanical cadaver model. J Hand Surg Am. 2018;43(2):134-138.”

Please submit the following elements of your Weekly AAHSk Q/A related to your HAND article submission:

Challenging question (open text box)

5 answer choices, one being the correct answer (open text box)

Brief but detailed explanation (open text box)

A reference will be added if your submission and AAHSk Q/A are selected for publication.

5.2 ORCID

As part of our commitment to ensuring an ethical, transparent and fair peer review process Sage is a supporting member of ORCID, the Open Researcher and Contributor ID. ORCID provides a unique and persistent digital identifier that distinguishes researchers from every other researcher, even those who share the same name, and, through integration in key research workflows such as manuscript and grant submission, supports automated linkages between researchers and their professional activities, ensuring that their work is recognized.

The collection of ORCID IDs from corresponding authors is now part of the submission process of this Journal. If you already have an ORCID ID you will be asked to associate that to your submission during the online submission process. We also strongly encourage all co-authors to link their ORCID ID to their accounts in our online peer review platforms. It takes seconds to do: click the link when prompted, sign into your ORCID account and our systems are automatically updated. Your ORCID ID will become part of your accepted publication’s metadata, making your work attributable to you and only you. Your ORCID ID is published with your article so that fellow researchers reading your work can link to your ORCID profile and from there link to your other publications.

If you do not already have an ORCID ID please follow this link to create one or visit our ORCID homepage to learn more.

5.3 Information required for completing your submission

You will be asked to provide contact details and academic affiliations for all co-authors via the submission system and identify who is to be the corresponding author. These details must match what appears on your manuscript. The affiliation listed in the manuscript should be the institution where the research was conducted. If an author has moved to a new institution since completing the research, the new affiliation can be included in a manuscript note at the end of the paper. At this stage please ensure you have included all the required statements and declarations and uploaded any additional supplementary files (including reporting guidelines where relevant).

5.4 Permissions

Please also ensure that you have obtained any necessary permission from copyright holders for reproducing any illustrations, tables, figures or lengthy quotations previously published elsewhere. For further information including guidance on fair dealing for criticism and review, please see the Copyright and Permissions page on the Sage Author Gateway.

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6. On acceptance and publication

6.1 Author proofs

After a submission is accepted and processed through production, a proof of the article is made available to the author. Authors are expected to check proofs thoroughly upon the first round, as a second round of proofs is unlikely to be sent. The purpose of the proof is to check for typesetting errors and the completeness and accuracy of the text, tables and figures. Substantial changes in content, e.g., new results, corrected values, title, and authorship, are not allowed without the approval of the Editor.

The article will be published online after receipt of the corrected proofs. This is the official first publication citable with the DOI. After release of the printed version, the paper can also be cited by issue and page numbers. After online publication, further changes can only be made in the form of a corrigendum, which will be hyperlinked to the article.

6.2 OnlineFirst publication

OnlineFirst allows final articles (completed and approved articles awaiting assignment to a future issue) to be published online prior to their inclusion in a journal issue, which significantly reduces the lead time between submission and publication. Visit the Sage Journals help page for more details, including how to cite Online First articles.

6.3 Access to your published article

Sage provides authors with online access to their final article.

6.4 Promoting your article

Publication is not the end of the process! You can help disseminate your paper and ensure it is as widely read and cited as possible. The Sage Author Gateway has numerous resources to help you promote your work. Visit the Promote Your Article page on the Gateway for tips and advice.

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7. Further information

Any correspondence, queries or additional requests for information on the manuscript submission process should be sent to the HAND editorial office as follows:

Editor-in-Chief
Michael Neumeister, MD, FRCSC, FACS
Southern Illinois University School of Medicine
Springfield, IL, USA

Managing Editor
Karen Doyle
Managing Editor
HAND Editorial Office
kdoyle12@verizon.net
610-431-3963