Surgical & Cosmetic Dermatology is an interdisciplinary open-access journal dedicated to publishing research on all aspects of Dermatologic Surgery. It also welcomes articles in Cutaneous Oncology, Cosmetic Surgery and Dermatology, Laser, and other Therapy Technologies.

Please see Editorial Policies to:

• General information
• Language
• Open access
• Authorship
• Peer-review policy
• Copyright and licensing
• Ethical guidelines and research integrity

PREPRINT
 

We accept the submission of articles deposited in preprints repositories. Authors can share their preprint anywhere at any time.

If a preprint is accepted for publication, we encourage authors to link it to their formal publication through their Digital Object Identifier (DOI).

Authors can update their preprints on bioRxiv (https://www.biorxiv.org/), medRxiv (https://www.medrxiv.org/) or others with their accepted manuscript.

DISCLAIMER
 

Statements and opinions expressed in the articles and communications published on Surgical & Cosmetic Dermatology are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the Editor(s), Publisher, or Society.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
 

Proper preparation of the manuscript makes the review and publication processes more efficient. Thus, we recommend some precautions that can significantly facilitate the preparation of papers.

1. Articles must be unpublished and written in the author’s original language (Portuguese or English): the editorial team will provide the necessary versions. The font must be Times New Roman or Arial, 12 points.
2. The study's title must be concise, informed in Portuguese and English, containing up to 150 characters without spaces, accompanied by a short title.
3. Abstracts in Portuguese and English must follow the appropriate format for the type of article.
4. 4. Authors must inform full name, abbreviations, and their institutional affiliations, followed by city, state, and country. Links to institutions must be listed in hierarchical order (e.g., first the Department, second the University). The inclusion of mini-curriculums is not allowed. When an author is affiliated with more than one institution, each must be identified separately. When two or more authors are affiliated with the same institution, it should be identified only once. Authors belonging to Private Clinics must cite them as an institution. It is mandatory to mention the ORCID number used to identify researchers for the first and last authors. The author must assume at least one responsibility in the elaboration of the study and must inform the contribution of each one in the submission. One of the authors must be designated as the corresponding author, providing an email address. Authors must also mention the place where the work was conducted.
5. Authors must clearly state any conflicts of interest and financial support.
6. The keywords must be cited in Portuguese and English, totaling 3 to 10 per language, and they must be included in all types of articles. We recommend that the keywords are obtained from DeCS (Health Science Descriptors) or MeSH (Medical Subject Headings), which can be accessed on the internet.
7. The limit number of words for texts must follow the type of article and calculated excluding references and abstracts in Portuguese and English.
8. Extensive and repetitive introductory information should be avoided, giving preference to the most recent, not yet published. Avoid repeating the same information in the abstract, introduction, and discussion.
9. Weights and measurements must be expressed in the decimal metric system and temperatures in degrees centigrade.
10. Drugs must be mentioned by their generic names, followed by the dose and dosage used, avoiding commercial terms or brands. Descriptions of any equipment, instruments, tests, and reagents must contain the name of the manufacturer and the place of manufacture.
11. According to the ICMJE, only those who actively participated in the study can be designated as authors, thus assuming public responsibility for its content. Authorship credits must be based solely on substantial contributions to:
    1. discussion and planning of the topic and protocol, analysis or interpretation of data;
    2. writing of the article or its review;
    3. responsibility for final approval for publication.
    Other minor contributions such as literature suggestions, data collection and analysis, funding obtaining, technical assistance in conducting routines, patients referral, routine test interpretation, and head of service or department that are not involved in the study do not constitute criteria for authorship. They can be recognized separately in the “Acknowledgments” session, according to the authors’ decision.

ARTICLE TYPES
 

A Surgical & Cosmetic Dermatology publishes the following article types:
 

1. REVIEW ARTICLES

   Review articles deepen specific themes in the areas of interest of S&CD, algorithms, compilations, statistics, consensus, and guidelines. These papers have a free format; however, they must contain an unstructured abstract of up to 100 words and conclusions or final considerations. Limit: text up to 6000 words, 10 illustrations, and 60 references. Systematic review articles or meta-analyses must follow relevant guidelines (http://cochrane.org.br).

2. ORIGINAL ARTICLE

   Original articles report original investigative research in Dermatological Surgery, Cutaneous Oncology, Imaging Diagnosis, Dermatology Technology, and Cosmetic Dermatology. Examples: experimental studies, clinical studies, comparisons and descriptions of techniques, or evaluation methods. The text should contain up to 4000 words, 10 illustrations, and 35 references and follow the IMRDC format (Introduction and objective, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion).

   Abstract: The abstract must contain up to 250 words and be structured, comprising: Introduction, Objective, Methods, Results, and Conclusions. It is not allowed to state that results or other data will be presented or discussed.

   Introduction: State the reasons that motivated the study, describing the current state of knowledge on the subject. Use the last paragraph to specify the central question or objective of the research and the primary hypothesis tested, if any.

   Methods: Explain how the study was conducted:

   1. Study type: describe its design specifying the temporal direction (retrospective or prospective), the type of randomization, if any (pairing, drawing, sequencing, etc.), if the study was blind, comparative, placebo-controlled, etc.
   2. Location: indicate where the study was conducted (private or public institution), mentioning the research’s approval by the Research Ethics Committee, the selection procedures, the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and the initial number of patients.
   3. Procedures: describe the main characteristics of the interventions performed, detailing the technique and considering that the investigation study should be reproducible.
   4. Methodology: Description of the methods used to evaluate the results.
   5. Statistical analysis: Inclusion of descriptive and/or comparative statistical analysis describing the sample planning (representative of the universe to be studied), analysis and statistical tests, and presenting the adopted significance levels. We encourage using unusual statistical analyses, but a more detailed description should be made in this case.

   Results: Report the main results that point estimates and measures of dispersion should accompany (e.g., mean and standard error) or interval estimates (e.g., confidence intervals), as well as the descriptive levels of the tests statistics used (e.g., “p-value”). Findings must also be interpreted from a clinical point of view.

   Discussion: Emphasize the new and essential results found by the study, which will be part of the conclusion. Also, report observations from other relevant studies, mentioning the limitations of the findings and implications for future research.

   Conclusions: Clearly and concisely answer the proposed objectives of the study. The same emphasis must be given to studies with positive or negative results.

3. DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING

   Diagnostic Imaging addresses topics or clinical cases where imaging exams (dermoscopy, confocal microscopy, ultrasound, and other methods) are essential for diagnosis or treatment. It must contain unstructured abstract of up to 100 words, text up to 1200 words, 6 illustrations, and 5 references.

4. HOW I DO IT?

   How do I do it? describes new techniques or details of procedures. It must contain unstructured abstract of up to 100 words, an introduction with a literature review, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion. Limit: 1200 words, 8 illustrations, and 30 references.

5. CASE REPORT

   Case report is the description of cases or series of relevant cases in the areas of interest of S&CD, depicting treatments, complications, etc. It must contain unstructured abstract of up to 100 words, an introduction with a literature review, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion, whenever pertinent. Limit: text up to 1200 words, 8 illustrations and 30 references.

6. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

   Letters to the editor are objective, brief, and constructive comments on previously published studies or research. The text should be up to 600 words, with a maximum of 5 references.

ETHICS COMMITTEE
 

The authorization certificate by an Ethics Committee is only required for the Original Articles of prospective research.

REFERENCES
 

Bibliographic references must be listed on the last pages of the article and numbered according to the citation in the text (in sequential numerical order), following the Vancouver style, as indicated by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). References cited in table and figure legends must keep the sequence with the citations in the text. If a document has six or more authors, provide the name of the first six authors followed by "et al".
Below are examples of the most common types of references taken from ICMJE:

1. Journal articles:

   Hallal AH, Amortegui JD, Jeroukhimov IM, Casillas J, Schulman CI, Manning RJ, et al. Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography accurately detects common bile duct stones in resolving gallstone pancreatitis. J Am Coll Surg. 2005;200(6):869-75.

2. Book chapter:

   Reppert SM. Circadian rhythms: basic aspects and pediatric implications. In: Styne DM, Brook CGD, editors. Current concepts in pediatric endocrinology. New York: Elsevier; 1987. p .91-125.

3. Website and online content:

   With author: Fugh-Berman A. Pharmed OUT [Internet]. Washington: Georgetown University, Department of Physiology and Biophysics; c2006 [cited 2007 Mar 23]. Available from: http://www.pharmedout.org/.
   When the author is an organization: International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Recommendations on Biochemical & Organic Nomenclature, Symbols & Terminology etc. [Internet]. London: University of London, Queen Mary, Department of Chemistry; [updated 2006 Jul 24; cited 2007 Feb 22]. Available from: http://www.chem.qmul.ac.uk/iubmb/.

4. Previous presentation at events:

   Bruhat M, Silva Carvalho JL, Campo R, Fradique A, Dequesne J, Setubal A, editors. Proceedings of the 10th Congress of the European Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy; 2001 Nov 22-24; Lisbon, Portugal. Bologna (Italy): Monduzzi Editore, International Proceedings Division; c2001. 474 p.

FIGURES
 

Figures, charts, and tables must be cited in sequential numerical order in the text in Arabic numerals (example: Figure 3, Chart 7), and the Editor is responsible for suppressing the redundant ones. Figure and charts legends and table titles and footnotes must accurately describe their content in short sentences, but sufficient for understanding, even if the article is not fully read. They must be uploaded in the system in the step corresponding to illustrations, avoiding using the field for the text, so the words within the figures are not counted.

Figures must have a minimum resolution of 300 DPI, minimum width of 1,200 pixels with proportional height, and JPG or TIF formats. The photographs must be in focus, allowing the visualization of the details. Arrows or lines can be used to highlight areas of interest. The legends of histological images must specify staining and magnification. If a figure has been previously published, its source should be cited and included in the references. The copyright holder's permission for its reproduction must be sent to the journal. The use of pictures that identify patients’ faces requires a written authorization (see the document Consent of Publishing Patient Photographs on the journal’s website).

Regarding videos, it is necessary to insert subtitles containing information such as the title of the manuscript, authorship, institution, and other relevant comments. When using patient images, their identity must be preserved; otherwise, written permission for disclosure must be attached.

Charts must be prepared in Microsoft Excel. Tables do not need to be described in the text because their objective is to supplement it and not augment it. The units used to express the results (m, g, g/100, mL, etc.) should appear at the top of each column. Patients must be identified by numbers or letters, and never by names, initials, or hospital registration numbers.

COVER LETTER
 

The cover letter must include the following information:

• An explanation of why your manuscript is suitable for publishing in Surgical & Cosmetic Dermatology.
• Confirmation that the manuscript's content is original and has not been published nor is being considered for publication elsewhere.
• If the manuscript is being submitted for a particular special issue, its specific name must be mentioned in the cover letter.
• If the article reports the results of a health intervention in human participants, Surgical & Cosmetic Dermatology strongly recommends its record in an appropriate registry. The registration number and date must be indicated in this letter.

AUTHORS’ DECLARATIONS
 

The following final statements must be included in the final version of the manuscript. These declarations are expected to be submitted along with the cover letter since Surgical & Cosmetic Dermatology adopts a double-blind peer review.

‘Acknowledgments’ – list of people who contributed to the article (and does not meet the criteria for authorship), including contributors who provided professional writing services or materials.

‘Availability of data and materials’ – availability statements contain information on where data supporting the results reported in the article can be found, such as hyperlinks to publicly archived datasets. Example sentences are: ‘All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this article’; ‘The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available in the [NAME] repository’, ‘The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request’ or ‘Not applicable’ if no new data were created or analyzed in the study.

‘Financial support’ - all sources of funding of the study should be disclosed; it is necessary to indicate grants that authors have received in support of the research.

‘Conflict of interest’ – all financial and non-financial competing interests must be declared in this section. If the authors do not have any competing interests, it is necessary to state ‘The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest’.

‘Authors’ contributions’ – Each author is expected to have made substantial contributions to the manuscript, which should be specified in this section. Please use initials to refer to each authors’ contribution. For example: ‘AB, CD, and EF conceived this research and designed experiments. GH participated in the design and interpretation of the data. IJ performed experiments and analysis. KL and MN wrote the paper and participated in the revisions of it. All authors read and approved the final manuscript’.
The maximum acceptable limit of authors is 5 (five); there will only be an exception for more complex works (ex. Original Article, Review) upon justification and approval by the editors.

‘Ethics approval/Ethics approval and consent to participate’: manuscripts reporting studies involving human participants or human data must include a statement on ethics approval and consent and include the name of the ethics committee that approved the study and the committee’s reference number. Studies involving animals must include a statement on ethics approval. If the manuscript does not report on or involve the use of any animal or human data, it is necessary to state ‘Not applicable’.

‘Consent for publication’if the manuscript contains any individual's personal data in any form, consent for publication must be obtained from that person, or in the case of children, their parent or legal guardian. All presentations of case reports must have consent for publication.

SUBMISSION
 

Manuscripts should be submitted through our online submission system (https://www.gnpapers.com.br/scd/default.asp?lang=en). The submitting author is responsible for the manuscript during the submission and peer-review process. They must ensure that all eligible co-authors have been included in the author list and have all read and approved the submitted manuscript. The following files are required to submit a manuscript:

• The main manuscript file, which must not include the names of authors or co-authors (an anonymous file since the journal uses double-blind peer review). References and smaller tables should be included in this file.
• A title page, which must contain the names of all authors and co-authors, their affiliations, emails, and all authors’ declarations.
• A cover letter.
• Figure files.
• Any additional files as supplemental material to the manuscript.

All documents such as Copyright, Conflict of Interest, and Consent for Publishing Photographs are available on the journal’s website and in the online submission system. These documents must be signed by all participating authors and attached to the system when submitting the manuscript. Consent for Publishing Patient Photographs is only necessary when the patient’s face is fully identified. The editors will only request the Paper Participation document if necessary.