Policies and Instructions on Abstract Submissions

114th Annual Meeting
August 26-29, 2026
Louisville, KY

Submission Deadline: February 15, 2026

Policies Governing Accepted Submissions:

  1. Abstracts must be submitted online by February 15, 2026 to be eligible for review.
  2. Submission of a new or corrected abstract is not allowed after February 15, 2026.
  3. Once an abstract is accepted, additional authors cannot be added.
  4. An orthopaedic surgeon, resident/fellow and/or a member of COS must be listed as one of the authors. Presenters must be a medical student, resident/fellow or physician to present at the Annual Meeting.
  5. Acceptance or rejection letters, and all future correspondence will be emailed to the Primary Contact listed on the Abstract Submission Form. Notification of acceptance will be sent in May 2026 to the email address provided on the submission form. Failure to complete Presenter Forms by the date listed will result in the presentation being removed from the program.
  6. Abstracts not accepted for a podium presentation (main program or Rapid Fire session) may be accepted for an e-Poster or physical poster.
  7. The paper must be an original, unpublished work. Previously published online (web based) manuscripts or abstracts are not eligible.
  8. All co-authors must complete a disclosure form, or your presentation will be eliminated.
  9. A manuscript based on the abstract may be requested for award consideration. The Primary Author must present the paper at the meeting to receive the award. Stipends for award winning papers are contingent on the author status (i.e. medical student or resident/fellow), listed as the Primary Author on the Abstract Submission Form.
  10. COS reserves the right to encourage select authors to submit manuscripts to our official journal, The Journal of Surgical Orthopedic Advances (JSOA). Authors are not obligated to submit the manuscript to JSOA.
  11. The COS reserves the right to withdraw a presentation at any time.

Instructions to complete abstract submissions:

  1. TITLE: Make the title brief. Be sure the title reflects the study’s aims and results. Use title case for the entire title. Do not capitalize the title. Do not use similar titles for numerous submissions.
  2. CONTENT: The abstract must include four parts: INTRODUCTION—State the problem and the purpose of the study clearly. Address the gap in the literature or clinical experience; METHODS—Describe the population or data sets, how the data was collected and analyzed. Include statistics if used; RESULTS—Describe the findings. Include tables or graphs as relevant; p values are not required. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION—Include a review of the results with respect to the study aims and to the literature or other cases; describe limitations. Try to explain outliers. Include any future directions or recommendations.
  3. DO NOT INCLUDE any author names or institutions in the abstract or manuscript. DO NOT INCLUDE company or industry names, titles, appointments or addresses in the abstract. DO NOT USE subtitles. DO NOT CITE references. 
  4. MINIMUM FOLLOW-UP. A two-year minimum follow-up per patient is required for all results for reconstructive procedures and new or modified surgical or procedure techniques.
  5. LENGTH: Type the abstract in English on the form provided within the space allotted. The maximum number of words is 300. Additional words or pages will not be accepted. 
  6. STYLE: Standard abbreviations, superscripts, and units may be used. Submit the form, completed in full. Check your work prior to submission. The Clinical Orthopaedic Society is not responsible for proofreading or accuracy.
  7. DRUG NAMES: Nonproprietary (generic) names of drugs are required and should be written in lower case. Proprietary names are capitalized.
  8. SUBMISSIONS: An Electronic Submission form is provided below for all submissions. The abstract submission deadline for the 2026 Annual Meeting is February 15, 2026.
  9. NOTIFICATION OF ACCEPTANCE: You will be notified by email of acceptance by May 2026. The Clinical Orthopaedic Society reserves the right to withdraw a paper at any time after acceptance.
  10. REGISTRATION FEES: All presenters are required to register for the meeting and pay the registration fee.
  11. MANUSCRIPT: The paper must be an original, unpublished work. Papers that have been previously published, including online, are ineligible. Papers that have been submitted for publication but are not yet published (online/e pub or journal) prior to the date of the Annual Meeting are eligible. COS has the right to withdraw the paper if it was published before the Annual Meeting.

Podium Presentation

Each Podium presentation will be approximately 5 minutes. Moderators will keep track of the time. The presentation should reflect the submitted abstract with the addition of relevant references. Refrain from adding or changing data to the submitted abstract. Standard audiovisual equipment includes an LCD projector and Windows Laptop Computer (not an Apple Laptop/Macintosh). Personal laptops will not be used for presentations. Instructions will be provided later to upload your presentation. A Speaker Ready Room will be provided at the meeting. AV assistance is available on site.

Resident/Fellow Awards

Abstracts selected for award consideration have the additional requirement of a full manuscript, similar to a journal submission.

The COS Resident Committee will present the following:

  • Top Resident/Fellow Paper Award
    One Resident/Fellow Paper Award will be presented for the most outstanding research podium presentation. The awardee will be reimbursed for coach airfare with 30-day advance reservation, three-nights in a hotel room, and a waived meeting registration fee.

  • Top Resident & Medical Student Oral Scientific Presentation Competition
    The top two residents/fellows and top three medical students for podium presentations will receive a recognition plaque and a check depending on the ranking; First Place - $500  Second Place - $250  Third Place - $150

  • Top Resident/Fellow Rapid Fire Competition 
    The top five residents or fellows for the most outstanding Rapid Fire presentations will each receive a recognition plaque.

  • Posters & e-Posters 
    Three resident/fellow posters (2 regular posters,1 e-poster) and three medical student posters (2 regular posters, 1 e-poster) will each receive a recognition plaque.

See policies and instructions above for additional information on award papers.

Grading Process

  • Abstracts/Manuscripts will be read in a “blinded” fashion.
  • Graders are board certified orthopaedic surgeons and are COS members.
  • Each abstract is reviewed and graded on a score of 1 to 5 by at least four orthopaedic surgeons; the final grade is then averaged.
  • Grading is influenced by: significance of the study, potential clinical impact, content, clarity, specific number of cases or specimens, methods, innovation, data reporting, conclusions reflecting the results, and adherence to abstract submission instructions.

Submit Abstracts Here