Requesting a Refund

Authors wishing to request a refund should contact the Editorial Office as soon as possible. To facilitate prompt review, the request should include:

• Manuscript ID
• Manuscript title
• Corresponding author's name
• Date of payment
• Reason for the refund request
• Any supporting information relevant to the request

Refund requests should be submitted by the corresponding author on behalf of all co-authors.

Review of Refund Requests

Every refund request is reviewed individually by the Editorial Office. The review will consider factors including:

• The current stage of editorial processing.
• Whether peer review has commenced or been completed.
• Editorial, production, or publication services already performed.
• The reason for the withdrawal or refund request.
• Compliance with the Journal's editorial policies.

Submission of a refund request does not automatically guarantee approval.

Eligibility for Refunds

Refunds may be considered when:

• Payment was made in error or duplicated.
• A manuscript is withdrawn before substantial editorial or production work has been completed.
• The Journal is unable to proceed with publication for reasons unrelated to author misconduct.
• Other exceptional circumstances exist that, in the judgment of the Editorial Office, justify a refund.

Depending on the circumstances, approved refunds may be issued in full or in part.

Situations Where Refunds May Not Be Available

Refunds will generally not be available when:

• The manuscript has completed peer review.
• The article has been accepted and significant production work has begun.
• The article has been published online or in an issue of the Journal.
• The withdrawal request results from submission of the manuscript to another journal after editorial processing has commenced.
• The manuscript is rejected due to plagiarism, fabricated data, ethical misconduct, copyright infringement, or other violations of the Journal's editorial policies.
• Editorial or production services have been substantially completed.

Each case will be evaluated individually in accordance with this policy.

Withdrawal After Acceptance

Authors requesting withdrawal after editorial acceptance should also refer to the Journal's Manuscript Withdrawal Policy.

Where a withdrawal request is approved before publication and production work has not been substantially completed, the Journal may, at its discretion, issue a full or partial refund after considering the editorial and production services already provided.

Refund Method

Approved refunds will normally be processed using the original method of payment whenever reasonably possible. If the original payment method is unavailable, the Editorial Office may arrange an alternative refund method after verifying the identity of the payee.

Any bank charges, payment gateway fees, currency conversion costs, or transaction fees imposed by financial institutions or payment service providers may be deducted where applicable.

Processing Time

Once a refund has been approved, the Journal will initiate processing within a reasonable period. The time required for funds to appear in the recipient's account depends on the payment processor, financial institution, and applicable banking procedures. Processing times may therefore vary.

Editorial Independence

Refund decisions are administrative and financial in nature and have no influence on editorial decisions. Similarly, payment of an Article Processing Charge (APC) does not guarantee acceptance or publication of any manuscript.

Editorial decisions are made solely on the basis of scientific merit, originality, ethical standards, and relevance to the Journal.

Changes to This Policy

Annals of Surgery reserves the right to amend this Refund Policy at any time. Any updates will be published on this page together with the revised Effective Date. Continued use of the Journal's services after such updates constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

Contact Information

For refund requests or questions regarding this Refund Policy, please contact:

Editorial Office Annals of Surgery (ANNALSOPEN)
Website: www.aosopen.com
Email: info@aosopen.com

To help us process your request efficiently, please include your manuscript ID, manuscript title, payment details, and the reason for your refund request.