Journal profile · ORTHOPEDICS
Clinics in Orthopedic Surgery
ISSN 2005-291X · eISSN 2005-4408 · Korean Orthopaedic Association · Korea, Republic of
Clinics in Orthopedic Surgery: CAS Zone 3 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.51; diamond open access (no APC); no APC; median 121 days to acceptance (93 articles, last 24 months); 122 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Clinics in Orthopedic Surgery is published by Korean Orthopaedic Association and is in Zone 3 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Total Knee Arthroplasty Outcomes, Shoulder Injury and Treatment and Orthopaedic implants and arthroplasty, together about 27.2% of its articles. Its main subfields are Surgery. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Clinics in Orthopedic Surgery (CiOS; ISO abbreviation: Clin Orthop Surg), the official English journal of the Korean Orthopaedic Association (KOA), is an international, peer-reviewed journal launched in 2009. The journal intends to serve as a source of information and education for orthopedic surgeons and readers. It covers all clinical fields of orthopedic surgery including epidemiology, regenerative medicine, stem cell therapy, robotic surgery, and other computer assisted surgical technology, as well as clinically relevant basic research. The journal is published bimonthly on the first day of February, April, June, August, October, and December. Number of circulation of print copies is 800. The journal aims to promote communication regarding orthopedic problems and advanced patient care. All manuscripts should be creative, informative, and useful for the diagnosis and treatment of orthopedic conditions. Articles in the following categories will be published: original articles, case reports, invited review articles, editorials, special reports, and letters to the editor. All submissions, reviews, and decisions are processed on-line (http://ecios.org, http://cios.kr, http://ecios.kr). Electronic submission substantially reduces the reviewing time, thus shortening overall publication time. Please refer to ‘instructions to authors’ for detailed information.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): ORTHOPEDICS
Editor-in-chief Han Soo KimPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 2 in mainland China (about 2%); most named South Korea 40, United States 14, Japan 12, Hong Kong, China 3, Mainland China 2 (92 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Total Knee Arthroplasty OutcomesMedicine10.1%
- Shoulder Injury and TreatmentMedicine8.8%
- Orthopaedic implants and arthroplastyMedicine8.3%
- Orthopedic Surgery and RehabilitationMedicine6%
- Hip and Femur FracturesMedicine5.5%
- Bone fractures and treatmentsMedicine5.3%
- Shoulder and Clavicle InjuriesMedicine4.9%
- Knee injuries and reconstruction techniquesMedicine4.4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Orthopedics | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Orthopedics | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Orthopedics | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of SciencePMCPubMedPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, Crossref
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 2.51LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.5LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.87LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.25LetPub ·
- h-index
- 66OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 724OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.61OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 4%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 120LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,466 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 95 | 95 | 14 |
| 2025 | 122 | 122 | 176 |
| 2024 | 130 | 130 | 716 |
| 2023 | 90 | 90 | 644 |
| 2022 | 119 | 119 | 1,146 |
| 2021 | 74 | 74 | 1,043 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
121 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 81 days – 173 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 108 days (94 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 232 days
- Sample
- 93 articles with submission and acceptance dates (220 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 36 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 36 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Unspecified peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Diamond open access (no APC)DOAJ
Every article is open access and authors pay no article processing charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | No APC | No | CC BY-NC | |
| LetPub | No APC | No | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare7 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 350 words
- Keywords
- ≤ 5
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 1,500 words
- Reference style
- Vancouver
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Highlights
- Required
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted14, with length limits
- brief communicationAll other types of manuscripts should meet the abovementioned requirements. A. Review Articles Review articles should focus on a specific topic. Publication of …main text ≤ 1,500 words
- case reportAll other types of manuscripts should meet the abovementioned requirements. A. Review Articles Review articles should focus on a specific topic. Publication of …Length not stated
- case reportsArticles in the following categories will be published: original articles, case reports, invited review articles, editorials, special reports, and letters to th…Length not stated
- commentaryAll other types of manuscripts should meet the abovementioned requirements. A. Review Articles Review articles should focus on a specific topic. Publication of …Length not stated
- editorialAll other types of manuscripts should meet the abovementioned requirements. A. Review Articles Review articles should focus on a specific topic. Publication of …main text ≤ 1,000 words
- editorialsArticles in the following categories will be published: original articles, case reports, invited review articles, editorials, special reports, and letters to th…Length not stated
- invited review articlesArticles in the following categories will be published: original articles, case reports, invited review articles, editorials, special reports, and letters to th…Length not stated
- letters to the editorAll other types of manuscripts should meet the abovementioned requirements. A. Review Articles Review articles should focus on a specific topic. Publication of …Length not stated
- meta-analysisAll other types of manuscripts should meet the abovementioned requirements. A. Review Articles Review articles should focus on a specific topic. Publication of …Length not stated
- original articleAll other types of manuscripts should meet the abovementioned requirements. A. Review Articles Review articles should focus on a specific topic. Publication of …Length not stated
- original articlesArticles in the following categories will be published: original articles, case reports, invited review articles, editorials, special reports, and letters to th…Length not stated
- review articleAll other types of manuscripts should meet the abovementioned requirements. A. Review Articles Review articles should focus on a specific topic. Publication of …Length not stated
- special reportsArticles in the following categories will be published: original articles, case reports, invited review articles, editorials, special reports, and letters to th…Length not stated
- technical noteAll other types of manuscripts should meet the abovementioned requirements. A. Review Articles Review articles should focus on a specific topic. Publication of …main text ≤ 1,500 words
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Self-archiving
- Authorship B. Authorship and Author's Responsibilit
The corresponding author takes primary responsibility for communication with the journal during the manuscript submission, peer review, and publication process, and typically ensures that all the journal’s administrative requirements, such as providing details of authorship, ethics committee approval, clinical trial registration documentation, and gathering conflict of interest forms and statement…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest B. Financial Disclosure and Copyright Transfer
All authors must sign and scan a copy of the journal’s “Financial Disclosure and Copyright Transfer” form, which is available on-line on the submission page. The completed form should be submitted at the time of manuscript submission. 7. PREPARATION OF MANUSCRIPT Authors are required to submit their manuscripts after reading the following instructions. Any manuscript that does not conform to the f…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability D. Data Sharing
Data sharing encouraged. Model summary
CiOS encourages data sharing wherever possible, unless this is prevented by ethical, privacy, or confidentiality matters. Authors wishing to do so may deposit their data in a publicly accessible repository and include a link to the DOI within the text of the manuscript. • Clinical Trial: CiOS accepts the ICMJE Recommendations for data sharing statement policy (http://www.icmje.org/icmje-recommenda…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright B. Financial Disclosure and Copyright Transfer
All authors must sign and scan a copy of the journal’s “Financial Disclosure and Copyright Transfer” form, which is available on-line on the submission page. The completed form should be submitted at the time of manuscript submission. 7. PREPARATION OF MANUSCRIPT Authors are required to submit their manuscripts after reading the following instructions. Any manuscript that does not conform to the f…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access A. Open Access Policy
Open access under CC BY-NC. Model summary
CiOS is an open access journal. Articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium for non-commercial purpose, provided the original work is properly cited. It also follows the open access policy of PubMed Central at United States National Library of Medicine (http://www.n…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review 4. PEER REVIEW
The papers will be peer-reviewed by two accredited experts in the orthopedic field. The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for final decisions regarding the acceptance of a peer-reviewed paper. 5. RESEARCH AND PUBLICATION ETHICS For the policies on the research and publication ethics not stated in these instructions, Guidelines on Good Publication (http://publicationethics.org/resources/guidelines), R…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Self-archiving
Archived in PubMed Central/Europe PMC. Model summary
Full text of CiOS has been archived in PubMed Central (PMC)/Europe PMC (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/journals/971/) from the 1st issue of Volume 1, 2009.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Korean Orthopaedic Association
- Country or region
- Korea, Republic of
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2005-291X
- Electronic ISSN
- 2005-4408
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 18, Issue 4 (August 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Clinics in Orthopedic Surgery
What CAS zone is Clinics in Orthopedic Surgery in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Clinics in Orthopedic Surgery is in Zone 3 of Medicine, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Orthopedics. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Clinics in Orthopedic Surgery?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.51; CiteScore 3.5, h-index 66.
How long does peer review take at Clinics in Orthopedic Surgery?
Based on the dates recorded on 93 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 121 days (interquartile range 81–173 days); authors report an average review time of about 36 weeks. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Clinics in Orthopedic Surgery?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 350 words; Keywords: ≤ 5; Manuscript length: ≤ 1,500 words; Reference style: Vancouver; Suggested reviewers: Optional; Highlights: Required; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Clinics in Orthopedic Surgery based?
Of the 92 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 2 (about 2%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are South Korea (40), United States (14) and Japan (12). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Clinics in Orthopedic Surgery?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Clinics in Orthopedic Surgery is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists Web of Science, PMC and PubMed; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Clinics in Orthopedic Surgery open access, and what is the APC?
Clinics in Orthopedic Surgery is a diamond open-access journal (no APC). It charges no article processing charge.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .