Journal profile · ORTHOPEDICS-SURGERY
Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery
ISSN 1022-5536 · eISSN 2309-4990 · SAGE Publications Inc. · PEOPLES R CHINA
Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery: CAS Zone 4 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.7; fully open access; APC about USD 1,600; review about 42 days (first decision after review, publisher); acceptance rate 19.8% (journal website); 99 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery is published by SAGE Publications Inc. and is in Zone 4 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, Orthopaedic implants and arthroplasty and Shoulder Injury and Treatment, together about 26.2% of its articles. Its main subfields are Surgery. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery is an open access peer-reviewed journal publishing original reviews and research articles on all aspects of orthopaedic surgery. It is the official journal of the Asia Pacific Orthopaedic Association. The journal welcomes and will publish materials of a diverse nature, from basic science research to clinical trials and surgical techniques. The journal encourages contributions from all parts of the world, but special emphasis is given to research of particular relevance to the Asia Pacific region.
Source: LetPub
Research area (LetPub): ORTHOPEDICS-SURGERY
Editor-in-chief Frankie LeungPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 7 in mainland China (about 5%); most named Hong Kong, China 50, Japan 12, Australia 12, Singapore 8, Thailand 8 (139 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Total Knee Arthroplasty OutcomesMedicine11.7%
- Orthopaedic implants and arthroplastyMedicine8.1%
- Shoulder Injury and TreatmentMedicine6.4%
- Bone fractures and treatmentsMedicine6.3%
- Orthopedic Surgery and RehabilitationMedicine5.2%
- Orthopedic Infections and TreatmentsMedicine5.1%
- Knee injuries and reconstruction techniquesMedicine5%
- Hip and Femur FracturesMedicine4.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Orthopedics | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Surgery | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Orthopedics | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Surgery | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Orthopedics | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Surgery | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
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
- 1.7LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 1.8Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher)
- 2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.1LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.58LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.9LetPub ·
- h-index
- 36LetPub ·
- h-index
- 66OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,426OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.4OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5.6%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 85LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,935 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 129 | 129 | 27 |
| 2025 | 99 | 99 | 130 |
| 2024 | 87 | 87 | 284 |
| 2023 | 96 | 96 | 499 |
| 2022 | 113 | 113 | 942 |
| 2021 | 131 | 131 | 1,344 |
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
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
42 daysfirst decision after review · community reports about 13 weeks
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 13 weeksLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 19.8%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 5 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 42 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 11 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewLetPub
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
Fully open accessOpenAlex
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 1,600 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 1,600 | No | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 2,000 | — | — |
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 prepare3 items from the author guidelines
- Reference style
- Vancouver
- Cover letter
- Required
- Not considered
- preprint; prior publication
Article types accepted5
- commentaryCommentary: Commentaries discuss the findings, implications, and/or outcomes of specific research or wider research on a general topic.Length not stated
- editorialEditorial: Written by the Editorial team of the journal, editorials are intended to inform readers of changes concerning the journal, or to introduce supplement…Length not stated
- letterLetter: Letters contain coLength not stated
- original researchOriginal Research: These should detail original experiments/research conducted by the authors.Length not stated
- reviewReview: A review is a detailed examination including the benefits and drawbacks of a medicine, therapeutic technique, computer program, policy, or anything else…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Publication ethics, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism, Preprints, Trial registration / reporting guidelines
- Authorship 4.2 Authorship
Papers should only be submitted for consideration once consent is given by all contributing authors. Those submitting papers should carefully check that all those whose work contributed to the paper are acknowledged as contributing authors.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics 5.1 Publication ethics
Sage is committed to upholding the integrity of the academic record. We encourage authors to refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics’ International Standards for Authors and view the Publication Ethics page on the Sage Author Gateway.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access 1. Open Access
Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery is an open access, peer-reviewed journal. Each article accepted by peer review is made freely available online immediately upon publication, is published under a Creative Commons license and will be hosted online in perpetuity. There is no charge for submitting a paper to the journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review 4.1 Peer review policy
Double-anonymized peer review; manuscripts reviewed by two expert reviewers; final decision made by Editor-in-Chief, Deputy Editor and Section Editors. Model summary
Following a preliminary triage to eliminate submissions unsuitable for Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery all papers are sent out for review. The covering letter is important. To help the Editor in his preliminary evaluation, please indicate why you think the paper suitable for publication. If your paper should be considered for fast-track publication, please explain why. The journal’s policy is to ha…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism 5.1.1 Plagiarism
Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. We seek to protect the rights of our authors and we always investigate claims of plagiarism or misuse of published articles. Equally, we seek to protect the reputation of the journal against malpractice. Submitted articles may be checked with d…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints
Preprint server uploads not accepted. Model summary
The Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery does not accept papers that have been uploaded to a pre-print server.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Trial registration / reporting guidelines 4.8 Reporting guidelines
The relevant EQUATOR Network reporting guidelines should be followed depending on the type of study. For example, all randomized controlled trials submitted for publication should include a completed CONSORT flow chart as a cited figure and the completed CONSORT checklist should be uploaded with your submission as a supplementary file. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses should include the comple…
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
- SAGE Publications Inc.
- Country or region
- PEOPLES R CHINA
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1022-5536
- Electronic ISSN
- 2309-4990
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery
What CAS zone is Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery is in Zone 4 of Medicine, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Orthopedics / Surgery. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.7; CiteScore 3.1, h-index 66.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery?
The publisher reports about 42 days (first decision after review); authors report an average review time of about 13 weeks; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 19.8%. 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 Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Reference style: Vancouver; 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 Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery based?
Of the 139 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 7 (about 5%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Hong Kong, China (50), Japan (12) and Australia (12). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 1,600.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .