CALL FOR ABSTRACTS – ISSHCON 2026

Papers and Posters

The scientific committee of ISSHCON 2026 is pleased to announce the opening of the abstract submission portal on the ISSHCON2026 website. ISSH members and non members working in the field of hand and upper limb surgery are invited to submit their original research work for presentation and deliberation during ISSHCON2026.
Selected abstracts may be presented as Free papers as a Podium Presentation, as a paper in the Best Paper Award session and as E- Posters.
Please go through the guidelines mentioned below to help you with the submission process.

A. General Guidelines (for all abstracts submitted)

Abstracts should be submitted in English only. Abstracts can only be submitted online via the abstract submission portal on conference website (www.isshcon2026.com) after a secure sign up and creation of a login ID.
Abstracts submitted by E mail in any format will not be accepted.
Abstracts submitted as text in the body of E mail will not be accepted.
Abstracts submitted in physical form by post will not be accepted.
Only unpublished original work will be considered for podium presentation.
Previously published work is not eligible for podium presentation In case you face any technical difficulty in the process of abstract submission, please write to us at: abstracts@isshcon2026.com. Please do not submit any abstracts to this email.
All abstracts will undergo blinded peer review prior to acceptance for presentation.
Each registered delegate can submit abstracts each for paper and poster submission. You may submit more than one abstract. However, each delegate will be allowed to present maximum of one presentation in each format (i.e, paper and poster).
Other submissions from same delegate/author may be considered for poster presentation if found suitable. In this aspect, the decision of the scientific committee will be final and binding.
During the abstract submission process, you will be required to choose between one of the three options - Paper, Poster, Paper or Poster for each submission. Also indicate if you are a Trainee or a Consultant. For Trainees, it is mandatory to submit proof of trainee status. (Letter from HOD, duly signed on official letter head certifying trainee status needs to be uploaded in PDF or JPEG format).
All abstracts should be structured: Introduction, Methodology, Results, Discussion, Conclusion.
Please use font Arial size 12 with standard spacing and margins Single case reports will be accepted as E-posters only.

All financial interests in the product or process involved with the research must be properly identified. This includes stock ownership, membership on an advisory board or board of directors, corporate sponsored research, or any other substantive relationship.

Only registered delegates will be allowed to make presentations of paper or poster at the conference; however, registration is not compulsory at the time of submission of abstracts.

Selected papers or posters will be disqualified if the presenting author does not register for the conference before 31st August, 2026
It is mandatory to have a master-chart ready for submission to the Scientific Committee before or after acceptance of the paper upon being asked by the scientific committee to do so.
The Scientific Committee’s decision is final and cannot be appealed against.

Disqualification:

Please do not mention authors / affiliation etc. anywhere directly or indirectly in the text. There is a separate section for that to be filled while making the submission.
This will warrant disqualification of the paper as they are to be judged by a blinded peer review process.
No requests for change of presenting author shall be entertained once the abstract is disqualified.
Plagiarized / doctored study will be summarily rejected

B. Free Paper presentation guidelines (6min + 2 min discussion)

Please ensure that the abstract is limited to a maximum of 300 words (not including section headers). Maximum number of authors for Free paper shall be six.
The scientific work should be original, unpublished work with adequate follow up Certificate of presentation will be issued only to the presenting author.

C. Best Paper award session guidelines (6 min + 2 min discussion)

1.) Separate sessions will be held for Trainees and Consultants.
2.) The scientific work must be original, unpublished work with adequate follow up, done in India and not presented by any of the authors elsewhere.
3.) No case reports will be accepted in the Best paper session
Eligibility criteria:
i. Trainee : Hand Surgery, Ortho or Plastic Surgery residents (MS, MCh, FNB, and DNB). Post graduate trainees who are not ISSH members to submit certificate from faculty co- author, unit chief or Head of Department permitting them to present the scientific material
j. Consultant: Practicing Hand / Ortho/ Plastic Surgeons or faculty (Senior residents / registrars and above) and should be ISSH life members or Annual members.
4.) A total of 7 papers each will be chosen from among the top scoring abstracts in the broad categories for the Best Paper Award sessions.
5.) Should you wish your paper submission to be considered for the Best paper award session, kindly select the check box on the abstract submission page. (The presenting author will be contacted for consent to include their paper in the Best Paper Award Session). Maximum number of authors for Best paper shall be six.
The decision of the reviewers/ Scientific committee will be final and binding in this aspect.
Please ensure that the abstract is limited to a maximum of 300 words (not including section headers).
Certificate of presentation will be issued only to the presenting author.

D. E- Poster guidelines

General specifications
All accepted posters will be displayed as E- posters only.
The E-poster will be displayed on standard 42” (Diagonal) LCD
File format should be Microsoft Powerpoint (.PPT)
Total size of the presentation should not exceed 10-20 MB
Maximum number of slides per E-poster: 5
All slides should be in landscape format in 16:9 ratio
Animation/movies/sounds will not be supported; please submit in a static PPT format only
Displaying of the poster start from 9 am onwards on 2nd October 2026 at the designated E- poster display area. Audio visual personnel will be available to help with loading the posters onto relevant computers/ laptops.

Design specifications
Each slide title should be placed in a title placeholder
The text should include (most likely as separate elements of the poster) Introduction, Aim, Methods, Results, Conclusion and References.
The poster should be self explanatory. Text should be brief and well organized
It is suggested that font size of the text should be at least 26 to 36 point. The typeface chosen should be a simple and clear one (e.g. Helvetica)
The correct font size depends greatly on the fonts used in the ppt and the thumb rule should be that if its visible well on the computer screen it shall be visible on the E-Poster Display Screen.
Color suggestions:
a. When using light backgrounds (white, yellow, light blue) we suggest using dark fonts (black, navy blue, dark green)
b. When using dark backgrounds (blue, purple) we suggest using light fonts (white, yellow, cyan)
c. Avoid using red or green in any fonts or backgrounds as they are colors that are difficult to read
Illustrations/images/photographs used in the E-poster should be enlarged enough to show relevant details

Poster Judging:
All accepted posters will be judged at a designated time by a panel of judges on Day 1 (Friday 2nd October 2026). First authors of accepted Posters have to be present during the designated time for presenting their poster and engage in discussion with the judges. In case the presenter is absent at the designated time, no subsequent time will be allocated for presentation.
The top 7 (seven) scoring posters will get an opportunity to present their posters as a “podium presentation” on Day 3 (Sunday 4th October 2026) during the “Best Poster session”. The selected posters will be announced by the end of Day 1. Attractive prizes are there for the winners.

E. Video abstract submission guidelines (6 min + 2 min discussion)

Video presentations on surgical techniques submitted for ISSHCON 26 will be subjected to peer review by the Scientific committee and must meet certain minimum requirements, as outlined below.

Please provide the following details in the abstract form:

Title: Video should have a title indicating the subject.

Authors: Abstracts should not exceed 250 words excluding the title and is required to be structured. Maximum number of authors for Video presentation shall be six. Names of all authors must appear at the beginning of the video. These names must match those on the abstract.(Max 6)

Video Preparation Guidelines

• Disclosures: Disclosures (if any) need to be declared after the title frame for authors and co-authors.
• Commercial Support: Attribution for commercial support must appear at the beginning of the video.
• Copyright Information: Permission for all copyrighted material (drawings, illustrations, video footage) must be obtained.
• Narration: The narration must be clear and easy to understand.
• No Background Music: Please refrain from adding background music to your video.
• Visualization: The video must show well what it intends to show, most often from the surgeon’s point of view. Wide shots should show context, close-ups should show detail. The surgical field should be well lighted. Please do not include any identifying features of the patients such as but not limited to their face, tattoos, scars or any other distinguishing features. If it’s unavoidable, please mask/hide the identifying patient marks within the video.
• Indications/Contraindications: The video should describe the indications and contraindications for the technique and the patient case illustrated.
• Preoperative and Postoperative Images: Pre- and post-operative images are very important to illustrate the patient’s condition before and after treatment and to confirm the results achieved. Please ensure these are de-identified.
• Outcomes: The video should try and present outcomes from the author’s personal series. It may be augmented with outcomes from published, peer reviewed literature.
• Patient Privacy: Identifying information, including patients' names, initials, or hospital numbers, must not appear. This typically happens in pre and post-operative radiographs, CT scans and MRIs. Please make sure to obtain written patient consent.
• Format & maximum Length: Please submit the videos in HD quality in mp4 format. The maximum permitted length of the video presentation is six (6) minutes.

Deadlines:

Video Abstract Submission Deadline: July 15, 2026 (11:59 PM IST)
Accept/Reject/Modification Notifications Sent By: Aug 15, 2026
Final Video File Due: Sep 15, 2026
The scientific committee reserves the right to change and revise the following deadlines. All deadlines are in effect at 11:59 PM (IST) on the day it is posted.