Journal of Minimally Invasive Surgery (JMIS) is the official journal of the Korean Society of Endoscopic & Laparoscopic Surgeons, published quarterly (15th day of March, June, September and December). All manuscripts submitted to JMIS must be original; i.e. not published elsewhere (except in abstract form) and not under consideration for publication elsewhere. The journal publishes original paper, case report, editorial, letter to the editor, technical notes, invited review articles, and video/multimedia articles in the field of minimally invasive surgery.
Manuscripts for submission to JMIS should be written in English according to the following instructions for authors. If the details are not described below, the style should follow the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Writing and Editing for Biomedical Publications available at International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) website (http://www.icmje.org).

RESEARCH AND PUBLICATION ETHICS

JMIS adheres to the ethical guidelines for research and publication described in Good Publication Practice Guidelines for Medical Journals (http://kamje.or.kr/intro.php?body=publishing_ethics) and Guidelines on Good Publication (http://publicationethics.org/resources/guidelines).

Statement of Human and Animal Rights

All human investigations must be conducted according to the principles expressed in the WMA Declaration of Helsinki: Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects (https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-helsinki-ethical-principles-for-medical-research-involving-human-subjects/).

Statement of Informed Consent

Copies of written informed consent and Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval for clinical research should be kept. If necessary, the editor or reviewers may request copies of these documents to resolve questions about IRB approval and study conduct.

Clinical Trial Registration

Any research that deals with a clinical trial should be registered in a public trials registry that is acceptable to the International Committee of Medical Journals Editors (http://www.icmje.org/) such as https://cris.nih.go.kr/cris/index.jsp, or other sites accredited by WHO.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The corresponding author must inform the editor of any potential conflicts of interest that could influence the authors' interpretation of the data. Examples of potential conflicts of interest are financial support from or connections to pharmaceutical companies, political pressure from interest groups, and academically related issues. In particular, all sources of funding applicable to the study should be explicitly stated.

Authorship

Authorship credit should be based on 1) substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; 2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and 3) final approval of the version to be published. Authors should meet these 3 conditions. After the initial submission of a manuscript, any changes in authorship (adding author(s), deleting author(s), or re-arranging the order of authors) must be explained by a letter to the editor from the authors concerned. This letter must be signed by all authors on the paper. Copyright assignment must be completed by every author.

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. Any part of the accepted manuscript should not be duplicated in any other scientific journal without the permission of the Editorial Board. If duplicate publication related to the papers of this journal is detected, the authors will be announced in the journal and their institutes will be informed, and there will also be penalties for the authors. A letter of permission is required for any and all material that has been published previously. It is the responsibility of the author to request permission from the publisher for any material that is being reproduced. This requirement applies to text, illustrations, and tables.

Secondary publication

It is possible to republish manuscripts if the manuscripts satisfy the conditions of secondary publication of the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals.

COPYRIGHTS AND CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE

All published papers become the permanent property of the Korean Society of Endoscopic & Laparoscopic Surgeons.
The person using JMIS online may use, reproduce, disseminate, or display the open access version of content from this journal for non-commercial purposes. Any use of the open access version of this Journal in whole or in part must include the customary bibliographic citation, including author and publisher attribution, date, article title, JMIS and the URL and must include a copy of the copyright notice. If an original work is subsequently reproduced or disseminated not in its entirety but only in part or as a derivative work this must be clearly indicated.
For any commercial use of material from the open access version of the journal, permission must be obtained from the Korean Society of Endoscopic & Laparoscopic Surgeons (email: ksels2010@gmail.com).

PEER REVIEW PROCESS

The decision on the acceptance of manuscripts is based on the results of a peer review by at least two relevant referees of the field. In addition, if deemed necessary, a review of statistics may be requested. Authors' names and affiliations are removed during peer review. The acceptance criteria for all papers are based on the quality and originality of the research and its clinical and scientific significance. Acceptance of the manuscript is decided based on the critiques and recommended decision of the reviewers. An initial decision will normally be made within 4 weeks of receipt of a manuscript, and reviewers' comments are sent to the first or corresponding authors by e-mail. Revised manuscripts must be submitted online by the f irst or corresponding author who must indicate the alterations that have been made in response to the reviewers' comments item by item. Failure to resubmit the revised manuscript within 8 weeks of the editorial decision is regarded as a withdrawal. A final decision on acceptance for publication or rejection for publication is forwarded to the first or corresponding author from the Editorial Office.

PUBLICATION TYPES, QUALIFICATION FOR AUTHORS AND LANGUAGE

JMIS focuses on clinical and experimental studies, case reports, editorial, letter to the editor, reviews, technical notes, and videos. Any physicians or researchers throughout the world can submit a manuscript if the scope of the manuscript is appropriate. First & corresponding authors must be members of the Korean Society of Endoscopic & Laparoscopic Surgeons. Manuscripts should be submitted in Korean or English. If the article is written in Korean, the title and authors' names and affiliations must be written in both Korean and English. The corresponding author's contact information, abstract, keywords, tables, figure legends, references, and acknowledgments must all be written in English. Medical terminology should be written based on the most recent edition of Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary or the most recent edition of English- Korean Korean-English Medical Terminology, published by the Korean Medical Association.

SUBMISSION

All manuscripts should be submitted online via the journal's website (http://e-jmis.org/submission/Login.html) or the KSELS homepage (http://www.ksels.or.kr/) by the first or corresponding author. Once you have logged into your account, on-line system will lead you through the submission process in a step-by-step orderly process. Submission instructions are available at the website.

MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION

After entering all the checklist, you will be prompted for uploading files. The main document with manuscript text and tables should be prepared with an MS-word program.

1. 1. The manuscript for a major paper should be organized in the following order: title page, abstract, introduction, materials or methods, results, discussion, acknowledgements, references, tables, figure legends, and figures.
2. 2. The manuscript should be double spaced on 21.6 × 27.9 cm (letter size) or 21.0 × 29.7 cm (A4) paper with 3.0 cm margins at the top, bottom, and left margin.
3. 3. All manuscript pages are to be numbered consecutively, beginning with the abstract as page 1. Neither the author's names nor their affiliations should appear on the manuscript pages.
4. 4. Use only standard abbreviations with reference to the list of abbreviations and acronyms. The use of acronyms and abbreviations should be kept to a minimum. Avoid abbreviations in the title of the manuscript. The spelled-out abbreviation followed by the abbreviation in parenthesis should be used on the first mention unless the abbreviation is a standard.
5. 5. The names and locations (city, state and country only) of manufacturers of equipment and non-generic drugs should be given.
6. 6. When quoting from other sources, give a reference number after the author's name or at the end of the quotation.
7. 7. Reporting guidelines for specific study designs: For the specific study design, such as randomized control studies, studies of diagnostic accuracy, meta-analyses, observational studies and non-randomized studies, it is recommended that the authors follow the reporting guidelines listed in the following table [http://www.icmje.org/urm_main.html].

1) ORIGINAL ARTICLES

Original articles are reports of basic or clinical investigations. Although there is no limitation on the length of these manuscripts, the Editorial Board may abridge excessive illustrations and large tables. The manuscript for an original article should be organized in the following sequence: 1) title page, 2) abstract (including keywords), 3) main text (introduction, methods, results, discussion, acknowledgments, references), 4) tables & figure legends, and 5) figures. The cover letter should inform the editor that neither the submitted material nor portions thereof have been published previously or are not under consideration for publication elsewhere. It should state any potential conflict of interest that could influence the authors' interpretation of the data, such as financial support from or connections to pharmaceutical companies, political pressure from interest groups, or academically related issues.

1. a) Title page: Include the following items on the title page: (1) the title of the article, (2) running title, (3) the full name and ORCID number of each author, (4) affiliation: When other authors with a different address are included, first write the name of the organization where the primary research was conducted and the names of the other organizations along with the authors' names, listed in numerical order, with the numbering system beginning at the second organization. (6) The corresponding author's name, ORCID number, address, telephone, fax number and e-mail address, and (7) the source of any research funding, if necessary.
2. b) Abstract: The abstract should be concise, less than 250 words, and describe concisely, in a paragraph, purpose, methods, results, and derived conclusion of the study in a structured format. In case report, it should be fewer than 150 words. Up to 5 keywords should be listed at the bottom of abstract to be used as index terms. We strongly recommend the keywords within Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) in Medline [http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/MBrowser.html].
3. c) Main text: The main text of the paper may have separate Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion sections (these sections may not be applicable to all article types, e.g. case report, reviews, etc.). A short Acknowledgements paragraph may also be included.
   1. (1) Introduction: Briefly describe the purpose of the investigation, including relevant background information.
   2. (2) Methods: Describe the research plan, the materials (or subjects), and the methods used, in that order. Explain in detail how the disease was confirmed and how subjectivity in observations was controlled. When experimental methodology is the main issue of the paper, describe the process in detail so as to recreate the experiment as closely as possible. The sources of special chemicals or reagents should be given along with the source location (name of company, city, state/province, and country). If needed, include information on the institutional review board/ethics committee approval or waiver and informed consent. Methods of statistical analysis and criteria for statistical significance should be described.
   3. (3) Results: The 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.
   4. (4) Discussion: Observations pertaining to the results of research and other related materials should be interpreted for your readers. Emphasize new and important observations; do not merely repeat the contents of the results. Explain the meaning of the observed opinion along with its limits, and within the limits of the research results connect the conclusion to the purpose of the research. In a concluding paragraph, summarize the result and its meaning.
   5. (5) Acknowledgments: All persons who have made substantial contributions, but who have not met the criteria for authorship, are acknowledged here. All sources of funding applicable to the study should be stated here explicitly.
   6. (6) References: [JMIS Endnote Style Download] In the text, references should be cited with superscript Arabic numerals without brackets, numbered in the order cited. In the references section, the references should be numbered and listed in order of appearance in the text. List all authors if there are less than or equal to six authors. When there are more than six authors, the first three could be given, followed by 'et al'. If an article has been published online, but has not yet been given an issue or pages, the digital object identifier (DOI) should be supplied. Other types of references not described below should follow The NLM Style Guide for Authors, Editors, and Publishers [http://www.nlm.nih.gov/ citingmedicine]. The total number of references is limited to thirty for original articles, and ten for case reports.
   
   
   7. <Examples of JMIS references style>
   8. - Journal articles
      1) Park SJ, Lee KY, Lee SH. Laparoscopic Surgery for Colorectal Cancer in Korea: Nationwide Data from 2008~2013. J Minim Invasive Surg 2015;18(2):39-43.
      2) Jung KW, Won YJ, Kong HJ, Oh CM, Lee DH, Lee JS. Cancer statistics in Korea: incidence, mortality, survival, and prevalence in 2011. Cancer Res Treat 2014;46:109-123.
      3) Kolfschoten NE, van Leersum NJ, Gooiker GA, et al. Successful and safe introduction of laparoscopic colorectal cancer surgery in Dutch hospitals. Ann Surg 2013;257:916-921.
      4) National Cancer Center, Ministry of Health and Welfare. Cancer Facts & Figures 2014 in the Republic of Korea. Goyang-si: National Cancer Center; 2014.
   9. - Online publication
      1) Suzuki S, Kajiyama H, Shibata K, Ino K, Nawa A, Sakakibara K, et al. Is there any association between retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy and survival benefit in ovarian clear cell carcinoma patients? A nn O ncol 2 008 M ar 19 [Epub]. DOI:10.1093/annonc/mdn059.
   10. - Online sources
       1) Statistics Korea. Supply and demand status of medical care assistance in Korea [Internet]. Daejeon: Statistics Korea; c2008 [cited on May 11, 2015]. Available from: http://www.index. go.kr/potal/main/EachDtlPageDetail.do?idx_ cd=1406.
       2) American Cancer Society. Cancer reference information [Internet]. Atlanta (GA): American Cancer Society; c2009 [cited 2010 Aug 10]. Available from: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ CRI/CRI_0.asp.
   11. - Entire book
       1) Sabiston DC. Davis-Christopher's textbook of surgery. 15th ed. Phladelphia: WB Saunders; 1997.
   12. - Part of a book
       1) Dozois RR. Disorders of the anal canal. In: Sabiston DC, Lyerly HK, editors. Textbook of surgery: The biological basis of modern surgical practice. 15th ed. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders; 1997. p. 1032-44.
   13. - Dissertation
       1) Hong GD. The relationship between low serum cholesterol level and cancer mortality [dissertation]. Seoul (KR): Seoul National Univ.; 2009.
   14. - Conference paper
       1) Rice AS, Brooks JW. Canabinoids and pain. In: Dostorovsky JO, Carr DB, editors. Proceedings of the 10th World Congress on Pain; 2002 Aug 17-22; San Diego, CA. Seattle (WA): IASP Press; 2003. p. 437-46.
       2) Health and Social Care Information Centre. National Bowel Cancer Audit Progress Report Tripartite Colorectal Meeting. Boar Lane: Health and Social Care Information Centre; 2014.
   15. (7) Tables
       - Tables are to be numbered in the order in which they are cited in the text.
       - A table title should concisely describe the content of the table so that a reader can understand the table without referring to the text.
       - Each table must be simple and typed on a separate page with its heading above it.
       - Explanatory matter is placed in footnotes below the tabular matter and not included in the heading. All non-standard abbreviations are explained in the footnotes.
       - Footnotes should be indicated by ^*, ^†, ^‡, ^§, ^∥, ^¶, ^**
       - Statistical measures such as SD or SEM should be identified.
       - Vertical rules and horizontal rules between entries should be omitted.
   16. (8) Figures
       - Upload each figure as a single image file in either uncompressed jpg or gif format over 600 dpi (dots per inch) or 3 million pixel (less than 6 megabytes).
       - Written permission should be obtained for the use of all previously published illustrations (and copies of permission letters should be included).
       - In the case of multiple prints bearing the same number, use English letters after the numerals to indicate the correct order. (ex) Fig. 1A --, Fig. 1B
       - Figures should be numbered, using Arabic numerals, in the order in which they are cited.
       - A figure legend should be a one-sentence description in English rather than a phrase.

2) CASE REPORTS

Case reports will be published only in exceptional circumstances, when they illustrate a rare occurrence of clinical importance. Case reports should address issues of importance to medical researchers and preferably should have helpful illustrations. The manuscript for a case report should be organized in the following sequence: title page, abstract and keywords, i ntroduction, c ase report, d iscussion, acknowledgments, references, tables, figure legends, and figures. The abstract should be unstructured and its length should not exceed 150 words. There should be no more than five figures, including tables, and no more than 10 references.

3) REVIEWS

Reviews are invited by the editor and should be comprehensive analyses of specific topics. They are organized as follows: title page, abstract and keywords, introduction, body text, conclusion, acknowledgments, references, tables, figure legends, and figures. There should be an unstructured abstract equal to or less than 200 words. The length of the text excluding references, tables, and figures should not exceed 7,500 words.

4) EDITORIALS

Editorials are invited by the editor and should be commentaries on articles published recently in the Journal. Editorial topics could include active areas of research, fresh insights, and debates in all fields of minimally invasive surgery. Editorials should not exceed 2,000 words, excluding references, tables, and figures.

5) VIDEO/MULTIMEDIA ARTICLES

Video clips can be submitted for placement on the Journal website. A video file submitted for consideration for publication should be in complete and final format and at as high a resolution as possible. Any editing of the video will be the responsibility of the author. A manuscript should be submitted with the video so that the submission is indexed in electronic library or medical database. The manuscript should be prepared according to the requirements of case report (title page, abstract and keywords, introduction, method or procedure, discussion, acknowledgments, references), and references as well as disclosures. Up to 5 video clips per manuscript submission can be submitted. We accept all kind of video files not exceed 500MB, less than 5 minutes duration, but recommend Windows Media Player (*.WMV), MPEG (*.MPG, *.MPEG, *.MP4), Audio Video Interleave (*.AVI), and Quicktime (*.MOV). files. The video file must be playable on a Windows-based computer. An audio narration in English must accompany the video. Annotation of anatomic structures is encouraged but music sound tracks nor fancy video transitions are not encouraged. If the article is accepted for publication, the video will be digitized and permanently archived on the JMIS website.

COPYRIGHT AND PERMISSIONS

Authors must declare that the submitted work is their own and that copyright has not been breached in seeking its publication. Before publication, therefore, a copyright transfer agreement signed by all authors is required. In addition, it is the authors' responsibility to obtain written permission to reproduce (in all media, including electronic) any material that has appeared previously in another publication. Authors should provide copies of permission letters for any material reproduced from copyrighted publications. Submitted material will not be returned to the author unless specifically requested.

PAGE CHARGES

Accepted manuscripts will be published with the implicit understanding that the authors will pay the costs of publication including page charges. Basic page charge is 50,000 KRW for Korean authors and 50 USD for non-Korean authors for all published manuscripts. Illustrations, photographs, electron micrographs, color plates and other special illustrations will be reproduced at the author's expense at cost prices.

Bank Name: Woori Bank
Account Name: The Korean Society of Endoscopic and Laparoscopic Surgeons
Account No: 1005-802-042029

Contact Us
Editor-in-Chief: Suk-Hwan Lee
Kyung Hee University Hostpital at Gangdong, 892, Dongnamro, Gangdong-gu, Seoul 05278, Korea
Tel: +82-2-440-6134, Fax: +82-2-440-6295,
E-mail: leeshdr@khu.ac.kr

Editorial Office
The Korean Society of Endoscopic and Laparoscopic Surgeons
Seoul National University Bundang Hospital 2dong 7716, 82, Gumi-ro 173 Beon-gil, Bundang-gu, Seongnam 13620, Korea
Tel: +82-31-712-5009, Fax: +82-31-717-5009,
E-mail: ksels2010@gmail.com

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NOTICE: These recently revised instructions for authors will be applied beginning with the September 2015 issue.