Get your Journal of Hand Surgery paper right the first time: a ready-made structure with the right abstract and citations, so editors see your science, not formatting slips.
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Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 17 August, 2026
Submitting to Journal of Hand Surgery goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Journal of Hand Surgery guide for authors before peer review, so formatting, structure, and required statements should be right on the first draft rather than repaired during upload. This template sets that structure up for you.
It is a manuscript shell aligned to Journal of Hand Surgery. It covers front matter, the abstract the journal expects, a body organized to the journal's article types, and a reference list in the journal's required style. Confirm current scope and article types on the Journal of Hand Surgery journal page before you draft.
Prepare the title, authors, affiliations, and ORCID iDs. Write the abstract to the journal's rule and word limit, organize the body to the article type, and apply the required reference style from the first citation. Complete every declaration (ethics, competing interests, funding, data availability) the Journal of Hand Surgery guide for authors lists, and cite figures and tables in order.
The common failure modes are formatting or reference style that does not match the guide for authors, missing required statements, and an incomplete portal checklist. Clear all three against the Journal of Hand Surgery guide for authors before you submit.
The shell mirrors what editorial staff check first: article-type fit, the abstract rules, required declarations, and the journal's reference style. For more detail see the author resources. When your draft is ready, upload it through Editorial Manager.
| Element | J Hand Surg requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Structured abstract limited to 300 words for peer-reviewed clinical studies, divided into 5 sections: Purpose, Methods, Results, Conclusions, and Level of Evidence. Structured abstract limited to 300 words for peer-reviewed basic science studies, divided into 5 sections: Purpose, Methods, Results, Conclusions, and Clinical Relevance. Review articles: brief one-paragraph description of manuscript contents. Current Concepts, Hand Surgery Landscape, and Surgical Techniques: one-paragraph abstract |
| Main text | General manuscripts: fewer than 3,000 words. Current Concepts: no more than 3,000 words. The Hand Surgery Landscape: no more than 2,000 words. Surgical Techniques: no more than 2,500 words. Review of books and media: limit to 800 words. Letters: limit body to 300 words. Introduction section: fewer than 500 words. Results section: less than 500 words. Discussion section: fewer than 1,000 words |
| Declarations | Ethics approval/consent as applicable; competing interests; funding; data availability |
| Figures/tables | Publication-ready; cited in order |
| Supplemental | Upload separately when used |
| Keywords | Up to 5 keywords in alphabetical order. Use American spelling, avoid general and plural terms and multiple concepts. Be sparing with abbreviations: only abbreviations firmly established in the field may be eligible |
| References | American Medical Association (AMA) Manual of Style (latest edition). References numbered consecutively by order of citation in text. Identify references with consecutive superscript Arabic numerals |
| Peer review | Double anonymized review process (double-blind): identities of the authors are concealed from the reviewers, and vice versa |
| Submission | www.editorialmanager.com/jhs |
Read the Journal of Hand Surgery guide for authors once before drafting and once before upload. Draft the abstract after results are stable. Set the reference style before adding citations. Keep a cover letter that states your contribution and fit to Journal of Hand Surgery in under a page.
Skim two or three recent J Hand Surg papers to calibrate depth and figure style. Make the novelty clear in the first two pages. Deposit data and code when the policy on the Journal of Hand Surgery journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Do one focused pass against the Journal of Hand Surgery guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through Editorial Manager.