Policy on Corrections and Peer Review Appeals

Corrections policy

We follow the STM Association guidelines and adhere to the principle of articles published must be accurate, preserved and unmodified to the greatest extent possible. 

However, if crucial corrections are to be made to published articles, they are authorized by the Editors of the journal. Any necessary changes will be accompanied with a post-publication notice which will be permanently linked to the original article so that readers will be fully informed of any necessary changes. The Editors will decide the magnitude and the nature of the errors, and decide on corrective actions accordingly. 

Minor corrections, will be made directly to the original article (such as minor layout changes/fixes, typos or grammatical issue that do not affect the content or meaning). 

Major corrections will be dealt with as follows: 

• Erratum (a statement by the authors of the original paper that briefly describes the correction(s) resulting from errors or omissions) – This is used for errors introduced by the publisher that affects the integrity of the article, the reputation of the authors, or the reputation of journal. Hence, the corrected article is not removed, but a notice of erratum is given. 

• Addendum (notification of additional information to an article) – This is published when the Editors decide that an addendum is necessary for the readers’ understanding of a significant part of the published paper. An addendum does not contradict the original publication, but if the author omitted significant information available at the time, this material can be added in this way. 

• Retraction (notice that the paper should not be regarded as part of the scientific literature) – This is used if there is clear evidence that the published findings are unreliable, which may be the result of misconduct or an honest error. The published article is not removed from the online journal, but notice of retraction is given as well as the reason for the action and who is responsible for the decision. 

• Corrigendum (notification of a significant error made by the authors of the article) – This is used when an important error is made by the author(s) that affects the publication record or the scientific integrity of the paper, or the reputation of the authors or the journal. All decisions on corrigenda are made by the Editors. 

Peer review appeals and author complaints

Journal of Plastic Surgery and Hand Surgery (JPHS) adheres to the guidelines provided by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) regarding appeals of editorial decisions and complaints concerning the management of the peer review process.

Please note that appeals are infrequent, and the original decisions are seldom reversed by the editors. The decision to reject a manuscript often involves the editor's judgment of priority, importance, and relevance, factors that authors typically cannot address through an appeal. However, if you believe there is a valid case for an appeal, we encourage you to submit an appeal letter to the editorial office, outlining the basis for your appeal. If you are an author and wish to provide feedback on aspects of the journal's editorial management, we welcome your comments, and you may submit them to the editorial office.