Editorial Policy

1. General ethical guidelines

  The journal adheres to the ethical guidelines for research and publication described in ‘Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Writing and Editing for Biomedical Publication’ (http://www.icmje.org; International Committee of Medical Journal Editors [ICMJE]), ‘Good Publication Practice Guidelines for Medical Journals’ (https://www.kamje.or.kr/board/view?b_name=bo_publication&bo_id=13; Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors [KAMJE]), and ‘Guidelines on Good Publication’ (https://publicationethics.org/guidance/Guidelines; Committee on Publication Ethics [COPE]).
  For issues not addressed in these instructions, the author is referred to the ICMJE “Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals” (http://www.icmje.org). Cases that require editorial expressions of concern or retraction shall follow the COPE flowcharts available from: http://publicationethics.org/resources/flowcharts. If correction is needed, it will follow the ICMJE Recommendation for Corrections, Retractions, Republications and Version Control available from:
http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/publishing-and-editorial-issues/corrections-and-version-control.html.

2. Authorship

  Authorship should be based on one of following contributions: (a) substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work, (b) drafting the work or reviewing it critically for important intellectual content, (c) final approval of the version to be published, (d) 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. Any persons who do not meet the 4 criteria above should be placed as contributors in ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS section. Authors submitting to this journal will be required to indicate the contribution, each has made to the manuscript. Any changes to the author list after submission, such as a change in the order of the authors, or the deletion or addition of authors, needs to be approved by a letter requesting the change signed by all the authors participating.

3. Conflicts of interest

  The corresponding author of an article is asked to inform the Editor of the authors' potential conflicts of interest possibly influencing their interpretation of data. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding. A potential conflict of interest should be disclosed in the manuscript even when the authors are confident that their judgments have not been influenced in preparing the manuscript. The disclosure form should be the same as the ICMJE Uniform Disclosure Form for Potential Conflicts of Interest
(http://www.icmje.org/disclosure-of-interest/).

4. Copyright

  The copyright for the manuscript published in this journal is owned by the Korean Association of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery. However, the legal responsibility for the content lies entirely with the authors. It is a violation of the regulations to present data on a paper that has been decided to be published but has not been published, and the use of published papers for commercial advertising purposes is prohibited. However, in case of an emergency in public health, prior consultation can be made with society.

5. Informed consent

  Human study must conform to ethical standards, and be approved by the appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB). A statement concerning IRB approval and consent procedures must appear at the Methods section. Any systematic data gathering effort in patients or volunteers must be approved by an IRB or adhere to appropriate local/national regulations. Authors may be questioned about the details of consent forms or the consent process. On occasion, the Editor-in-Chief may request a copy of the approved IRB application from the author.

6. Statement of human and animal right

  Clinical research studies must state that the work was done in accordance with the Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects outlined in the Helsinki Declaration in 1975 (revised in 2013). Clinical studies that do not meet the Helsinki Declaration will not be considered for publication. Human subjects must not be identifiable. Patients’ name, initial, hospital number, date of birth, or other protected healthcare information must not be disclosed. Animal research studies must state that the work was performed according to National or Institutional Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, and the ethical treatment of all experimental animals must be observed. The Annals of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery requires all the transplantation procedures and studies involving human subjects to have involved no illegal commercial transactions, the use of organs or other material from executed prisoners, or other unethical practices in obtaining donor organs.

7. Originality and duplicate publication

  All submitted manuscripts should be original and should not be considered by other scientific journals for publication at the same time. Manuscripts are only accepted for publication in journals if they have not been published elsewhere. No part of the accepted manuscript should be duplicated in another scientific journal without permission by Editorial Board. If duplicate publications related to the papers of this journal are detected, the publication of the papers can be disapproved in the journal based on the decision of the Editorial Board. If the authors wish to obtain a duplicate or secondary publication for various other reasons, such as for readers of a different language, they should obtain approval from the editors-in-chief of both the first and second journal.

8. Obligation to register clinical trial

  Clinical trial defined as “any research project that prospectively assigns human subjects to intervention and comparison groups to study the cause-and-effect relationship between a medical intervention and a health outcome” should be registered to the primary registry to be prior publication. Annals of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery accepts the registration in one of the primary registries that participate in the WHO International Clinical Trials Portal (http://www.who.int/ictrp/en/), ANZCTR (https://www.anzctr.org.au/), NIH ClinicalTrials.gov (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/), ISRCTN Registry (http://www.ISRCTN.org), or UMIN (https://www.umin.ac.jp/) The clinical trial registration number should be written at the end of the abstract. Reporting of randomized controlled trials should follow the guidelines of The CONSORT Statement (http://www.consort-statement.org).

9. Data sharing statement to clinical trial

  Annals of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery accepts the ICMJE Recommendations for data sharing statement policy (http://icmje.org/icmje-recommendations.pdf). All manuscripts reporting clinical trial results should submit a data sharing statement following the ICMJE guidelines from 1 July 2018. Authors may refer to the editorial, “Data Sharing statements for Clinical Trials: A Requirement of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors,” in Journal of Korean Medical Science Vol. 32, No. 7:1051-1053 (https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2017.32.7.1051).

Preprint Policy

A preprint can be defined as a version of a scholarly paper that precedes formal peer review and publication in a peer-reviewed scholarly journal. AHBPS allows authors to submit the preprint to the journal. It is not treated as duplicate submission or duplicate publication. AHBPS recommend authors to disclose it with DOI in the letter to the editor during the submission process. Otherwise, it may be screened from the plagiarism check program—Similarity Check. Preprint submission will be processed through the same peer-review process with a usual submission. If the preprint is accepted for publication, authors are recommended to update the info at the preprint with a link to the published article in AHBPS, including DOI at AHBPS. It is strongly recommended that authors cite the article in AHBPS instead of the preprint at their next submission to journals.

Submission

Manuscript may be sent either directly to the Editorial Office or submitted via online through the website (http://www.ahbps.org). Annals of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery uses an online submission and review system. Please register with our online submission system or contact the Editorial Office if you are unable to submit via online.

Peer Review and Acceptance

The journal utilizes anonymous peer-review in evaluating manuscripts for publication. All manuscripts submitted to Annals of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery are subject to external peer review. Each submitted article is assigned to a member of the editorial committee who is an expert of the field of the article as a manuscript editor. And the manuscript editor evaluates the submitted article with at least two external peer-reviewers to determine acceptance of the article. With respect to the revision and resubmission of manuscripts, it is the journal’s policy to allow a couple of resubmission only, which should be received within 20 days from the time of receipt of the initial review letter. In general, a manuscript requiring more than a couple of revision or returned beyond 3 months will be handled as a new submission.

Type of Manuscripts

Contributions may be submitted as original articles, How-I-Do-It technical reports, case reports, review articles and editorials. How-I-Do-It technical reports cover the surgical techniques of major concerns on hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery. Review articles and editorials are invited by the editorial board. However, authors who are interested in contributing reviews are requested to first contact the Editor-in-Chief with an outline of the proposed article.

Cover Letter

Cover letter should inform the editor that neither the submitted material nor portions have been published previously or are under consideration for publication elsewhere. When more than one related manuscript has been published or is under consideration for publication by this or other journals, authors are required to declare this in their letter and to enclose copies of those publications for an editorial perusal. Failure to do so may lead to automatic rejection of the submitted manuscript. The corresponding author should certify that all listed authors participated meaningfully in the study and that they have seen and approved the final manuscript. The cover letter must briefly explain each author’s individual contributions.

Preparation of Manuscript

The manuscript must be written with double-line spacing and 3 cm margins on A4 sized format. Number pages consecutively, beginning from the title page.
An original article must be arranged as follows: (1) title page (2) abstract (250 words or less with a list of 5 or less key words), (3) introduction, (4) materials and methods (or patients and methods), (5) results, (6) discussion, (7) acknowledgements, (8) conflict of interest statement, (9) references, (10) tables, (11) figure legends, and (12) figures on separate pages.
A How-I-Do-It technical report consists of (1) title page, (2) abstract (250 words or less with a list of 5 or less key words), (3) introduction, (4) description of surgical techniques, (5) discussion, (6) references, (7) tables and figure legends and (8) figures on separate pages.
A case report consists of (1) title page, (2) abstract (250 words or less with a list of 5 or less key words), (3) introduction, (4) cases, (5) discussion, (6) references (20 or less), (7) tables and figure legends and (8) figures on separate pages. The manuscript should be written in English.

1. Title page

  Provide a concise title. List the full names of all authors and their institutional affiliation. In a multi-authored work involving more than a single institution, indicate individual affiliation by means of superscript Arabic numbers. Indicate a change of address in a similar fashion. List the footnotes to the title page. Provide the contact information for the corresponding author (name, address, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address), and running title. Information on the research funding sources should be provided. All abbreviations should be explained in this page (e.g. BDR, bile duct resection; ICG, indocyanine green).

2. Abstract

  Abstract of original articles must contain 250 words or less and must be organized as follows: Backgrounds/Aims, Methods, Results, and Conclusions.
Abstracts of How-I-Do-It technical reports and case reports must contain 250 words or less in unstructured form. All abstracts should be written in English. Key words up to five words are provided according to the MeSH terminology (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/meshhome.html) at the bottom of abstract.

3. Introduction

  The rationale for the study should be summarized with pertinent background materials outlined. The introduction should not contain either results or conclusions. Provide the minimum background information that will orient the general reader. Do not engage in a literature review.

4. Materials and Methods

  Methods should be described in sufficient detail so that another investigator could repeat the work. The location (manufacturer name) of a manufacturer listed in the text should be included. Statistical methods used should be outlined. Ethical guidelines for human or animal study should be described and approval of institutional human research review committee or animal welfare committee should be cited. Describe in detail hazardous procedures or chemicals involved, including precautions observed. Provide a level of detail such that another investigator could repeat the work. For methods that are used without significant modification, citation of the original work will suffice. Identify and provide references for all the statistical methods used.
Ensure correct use of the terms sex (when reporting biological factors) and gender (identity, psychosocial or cultural factors), and, unless inappropriate, report the sex and/or gender of study participants, the sex of animals or cells, and describe the methods used to determine sex and gender. If the study was done involving an exclusive population, for example in only one sex, authors should justify why, except in obvious cases (e.g., prostate cancer). Authors should define how they determined race or ethnicity and justify their relevance.

5. Results

  Results should be presented in logical sequence in the text. Tables and illustrations and repetitive presentation of the same data in different forms should be avoided. The results should not include material appropriate to the discussion. Present the major findings of the study in graphical form if practicable. Do not illustrate minor details if their message is adequately conveyed by simple descriptive text. Mention all the tables and figures.

6. Discussion

  Discussion should explain results in relation to any hypotheses advanced in the introduction. This may include an evaluation of the methodology and of the relationship of new information to the existing corpus of knowledge in that field. Data given in the results section should not be reiterated here. Concisely present the implications of the new findings for the field as a whole, minimizing any reiteration of the results and avoid repetition of material in the introduction; keeping a close focus on the specific topic of the paper.

7. Acknowledgements

  A brief acknowledgements of persons who made a genuine contribution may be included. Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission to use any copyrighted text and/or illustration.

8. Author’s Contributions

  Authors must include a statement to specify the contributions of each co-author. The statement can be up to several sentences long, describing the specific contributions made by each author (list the authors’ initials, e.g., ABC). The name of each author must appear at least once in any of the following categories; conception and design of study, acquisition of data, analysis and/or interpretation of data, drafting the manuscript, revising the manuscript critically for important intellectual content.

9. References

  References should be numbered serially in the order of appearance in the text, with numbers in brackets [ ]. List all authors if the number of authors is less than 7. List first six authors followed by et al if the number of authors is 7 or more. Journal titles are abbreviated in accordance with the style of Index Medicus. For more on references, refer to the National Library of Medicine (NLM) Style Guide for Authors, Editors, and Publishers (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/citingmedicine).
Articles in journals:

• - References to an article with 6 or fewer authors:
  Kim IG, Xu W, Wang HJ, Park YK, Kim BW. Variation or newly identified glissonian pedicles between the lateral and medial sections of the liver, using cadaver dissection. J Korean Surg Soc 2013;85:261-268.
• - References to an article with more than 6 authors:
  Seo SI, Hwang S, Lee YJ, Kim KH, Ahn CS, Moon DB, et al. Comparison of survival outcomes following segmental bile duct resection versus pancreatoduodenectomy for mid bile duct cancer. Korean J Hepatobiliary Pancreat Surg 2011;15:42-49.
• Book chapters:
  Bruix J, Branco FS, Ayuso C. Hepatocellular carcinoma. In: Schiff ER, Sorrell MF, Maddrey WC, ed. Schiff's diseases of the liver. Vol I. 10th ed. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2007:1253-1263.
• Website:
  World Health Organization (WHO). WHO statistical information system [Internet]. WHO 2014 [cited 2014 Feb 1]. Available from: http://www.who.int/research/en/.

10. Tables

  Each table must be simple and typed on a separate page with its heading above it. Explanatory matter should be placed in footnotes below the tabular matter and should not be included in the heading. All non-standard abbreviations should be explained in the footnotes. Table footnotes should be indicated by superscript-lowercase alphabet. Statistical measures such as SD or SEM should be identified. Vertical rules and horizontal rules between entries should be omitted. Each table should be referred in the text consecutively and numbered according in order of citation. Tables should also be typed double-spaced, including headings. Larger size sheets must not be utilized.

11. Figure legends

  Figure legends should be typed double-spaced on a separate sheet. Symbols, arrows, and letters can be used to indicate parts of illustrations. Each figure should be referred in the text consecutively and should be numbered according in order of citation.

12. Figures

  We encourage authors to use color figures when they will enhance the presentation of the data. Illustrations should be sharp and presented in the TIF, BMP or PPT format at the time of submission. Figures should be supplied in the TIF or BMP format at a final resolution of not less than 300 dpi. Do not use JPG format for clear printing, except for very large-sized images. Each figure should be less than 10 MB in size for electronic upload. Please contact to the Editorial Office when very large files are to be submitted. Microscopic pictures should be explained according to the staining method and scaled by the power of magnification (e.g., H&E stain, x 400). Authors are charged only for color figures of the offprint. Color figures of electronic publication (PDF file) are free of charge, thus we suggest submitting color figures.

13. Terminology

  Medical terminology should be followed by the recent terminology book published by the Korean Medical Association (http://term.kma.org/).

14. Abbreviations

  Abbreviations are recommended to use in case that they appear in the text at least 3 times and should be explained in parentheses in its first use in the text. Do not use abbreviation in the title.

15. Units of measurement

  Laboratory measurements should be used in SI units (International System of Units). The metric system is preferred for the expression of length, area, mass, and volume.

16. Permissions

  Direct quotations, tables or illustrations taken from copy-righted material must be accompanied by written permission for their use fro the publisher. The permission is presented as a footnote or addition to the legend and it must provide complete information as to the source. Photographs of identifiable persons must be accompanied by a signed release that indicates their informed consent.

17. Author’s manuscript checklist

1. The manuscript is not concurrently submitted to other journals.
2. The manuscript is arranged in following order: Title page, Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgement, Reference, Legends.
3. Font of the main text is 11-point size.
4. Pages are numbered consecutively from abstract to legends on the last page.
5. Corresponding author name, address, telephone number, fax number, and ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) in Title page.
6. Information on the name(s) and affiliation(s) of the author(s) is not disclosed in the manuscript except the Title page.
7. The abstract should not exceed 250 words for English abstract, respectively. The abstracts should contain the same contents.
8. Key words (less than 5) are provided (should be inserted in the submission step).
9. Tables, graphs, and drawings are brief and self-explanatory.
10. Each title of the tables, graphs, and drawings is also selfexplanatory.
11. All tables and figures are uploaded in a separated file.
12. Figures are separated from figure legends.
13. Figure resolutions are higher than 600 dpi. And figures are at their actual (print) size.
14. References are in the correct style.

Article Processing Charges

The article processing charges, or APC is currently waived since May 2022, and all authors are welcome to submit and publish their works free of charge.

Copyright Transfer

Copyrights of all published materials are owned by AHBPS. All authors must sign the Transfer of Copyright Agreement when they submit their manuscript. Materials appearing in the journal are covered by copyright. The authors are responsible for obtaining permission from the copyright holder to reprint in AHBPS any previously published material. AHBPS is an open access journal under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution on-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Please see our Open Access Policy.