CALL FOR ABSTRACTS / ABSTRACT GUIDELINES
Minimally Invasive Surgery Week 2025
September 10-13, 2025
Wyndham® Lake Buena Vista Resort
Disney Springs® Area Resort
Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA
Submission Deadline: March 1, 2025
Questions? Need assistance with your submission?
Contact Abstracts@SLS.org
Submit Your Abstract for Presentation at MISWeek 2025 MISWeek 2025 Website
Download the e-Poster Template
GENERAL INFORMATION
We invite the submission of abstracts for presentation at MISWeek 2025. Authors need not be members of the Society in order to submit material. The program will include scientific papers, videos, and e-posters on all topics and specialties involving the use of minimally invasive and robotic surgical techniques and technologies including laparoscopy, endoscopy, robotic surgery, education, simulation, and outcomes, among others.
Selection of material for presentation will be based on quality, clarity, and relevance, as well as the significance of the material, as judged by evaluation of the content by the Abstract Review Committee. Awards will be given in various categories based on merit.
AWARDS
Named awards with monetary prizes will be awarded in the following categories:
- The Medical Educator Consortium Award for Best Scientific Paper: $1,200
- Michael S. Kavic Award for Best Scientific Paper by a Resident: $1,000
- Paul Alan Wetter Award for Best Multispecialty Scientific Paper: $ 500
- Harrith M. Hasson Award for Best Presentation Promoting Education or Training: $ 500
- Gustavo Stringel Award for Best Pediatric Surgery Presentation: $ 500
- Carl J. Levinson Award for Best Video: $ 500
- Gustavo Stringel Award for Best Poster: $ 500
- Gustavo Stringel Award for Best Poster by a Resident: $ 250
- Gustavo Stringel Award for Best Poster by a Student: $ 250
Certificates will be awarded for the Best Scientific Paper in General Surgery, Gynecology, Urology, Pediatric Surgery, and Multispecialty; Best Video in General Surgery, Gynecology, Urology, Pediatric Surgery, and Multispecialty. Certificates will also be awarded for Honorable Mentions in all categories.
SLS reserves the right to use submitted materials for educational purposes. ALL recorded presentations, videos, and posters will be retained for use by SLS for educational purposes, including internet and other media, unless there is written notification otherwise.
REQUIREMENTS
Please note: The following requirements apply to all categories of submission.
The ACCME states “the owners and employees of ineligible companies are considered to have unresolvable financial relationships and must be excluded from participating as planners or faculty, and must not be allowed to influence or control any aspect of the planning, delivery, or evaluation of accredited continuing education”. Therefore, SLS declares that no employees/owners of a ineligible company may participate in an SLS CE accredited session. This includes bio-medical startups that have begun a governmental regulatory approval process. This is applicable to authors and presenters.
Click here to view the ACCME’s definition of an ineligible company, owner, and employee.
- Presentations must not contain commercial product names or corporate names and/or logos. This also includes the narration in video submissions.Trade names or names of ineligible companies are NOT permissible in educational activities. Only generic terms may be used. According to ACCME & SLS Guidelines, and Mitigation Policies, educational materials that are part of a CE activity, including slides, videos, abstracts and handouts, cannot contain any advertising, corporate logos, trade names or product-group message of an ACCME-defined ineligible company. Presentations must give a balanced view of therapeutic options. Use of generic names contributes to this impartiality. No submissions containing commercial advertising or product promotion will be accepted.
- All work must be original and unpublished. DO NOT submit material that has been previously presented or published.
- All persons whose submissions are accepted must be paid registrants by July 13, 2025 in order for their work to be presented.
- Each author is limited to the submission of TWO ABSTRACTS as the primary author and/or presenter. Unauthorized substitutions of the presenting author are not allowed. ALL requests for presenter substitutions must be approved by SLS staff. SLS must be notified at least 4 weeks prior to the meeting in the event a substitute presenter is necessary. A disclosure affidavit must be completed/received for the substitute presenter. Presenter substitutions cannot be made onsite at the conference.
- ONE disclosure affidavit is required PER PERSON participating as a planner, speaker, moderator or presenting author at MISWeek. Please submit only ONE disclosure affidavit, even if you are participating in multiple roles at MISWeek 2025. Do not include your disclosures in your presentation. A Disclosure Index will be provided to attendees prior to the beginning of the activity being delivered to learners.
- ALL copyrighted material must be accompanied by a release authorizing duplication and display for educational purposes at meetings of the Society of Laparoscopic & Robotic Surgeons. Any identifiable individuals in videos, slides or other graphic materials must have signed releases permitting medical videography and use of their likeness. Please provide assurance that releases have been obtained, if required, and are available upon request.
Your submission will not be reviewed or considered in the event that:
- the disclosure affidavit for the author/presenter has not been completed and signed, or
- it does not meet the guidelines, or
- an online Abstract Submission Form is not completed, or
- abstract text is not provided electronically on the Abstract Submission Form, or
- e-poster submissions do not provide a PowerPoint slide of their e-poster on the Abstract Submission Form, or
- video submissions do not include a link to the video on the Abstract Submission Form, or
- is commercial in nature
PUBLICATION OF YOUR SUBMISSION
Accepted abstracts/invited presentations will be listed in program materials and/or published online if and only if the presenting authors have registered and paid required fees to attend MISWeek 2025 by July 13, 2025.
SLS strongly encourages authors of abstracts accepted for presentation to submit complete manuscripts of their work for consideration of publication in JSLS, Journal of the Society of Laparoscopic & Robotic Surgeons (Impact factor =1.789) or CRSLS, Case Reports from The Society of Laparoscopic and Robotic Surgeons. Please submit your manuscripts according to the “JSLS Guidelines for Authors” or the CRSLS Guidelines for Authors if you would like to have the material considered for publication.
TYPES OF SUBMISSIONS
Scientific Paper (oral presentations)
8 minutes for presentation. This category includes prospective or retrospective clinical series, experimental research with clinical results, or educational objectives that promote improvements or quality in healthcare. Material regarding techniques, technologies, simulation, outcomes assessment, medical economics, training, credentialing, and other topics are welcome. An abstract of 250 words or less must be provided on the online Abstract Submission Form.
Scientific Paper submissions may be accepted either as an Oral Presentation or as a Scientific e-Poster, as determined by the Abstract Review Committee.
Original Video (video presentations)
8 minutes maximum in length. Please see details for formatting located below. Subject matter is restricted to new materials that offer insights into relevant ideas and techniques in robotic and minimally invasive surgical and diagnostic procedures Submitted videos may be accepted based on content and peer review. Video submissions should be provided in MP4 format.
Scientific e-Poster (poster and oral presentation)
The purpose of these scientific posters is to provide summaries of findings in a self-contained visual format.
Posters MUST be submitted using the SLS e-Poster Template in PowerPoint. Complete each section of the template (4 slides). Instructions are included on the template. Do not change the size/parameters of the template. Include graphics, charts, and tables as needed to convey your results clearly. Name the file with your Last Name, First Name (ex. Smith, John.pptx). Upload the poster slide to the online Abstract Submission Form where indicated.
Poster slides that do not comply with the required formatting will be returned for revision.
Those with accepted e-posters will be invited to give a 5-minute oral presentation about their e-poster in the Poster Town Hall. Presentations will include the 4-slide PowerPoint e-poster slide that was submitted with the abstract.
ABSTRACT CONTENT
Abstract must not exceed 250 words and be provided in structured format. The title should be short and succinct. The body of the abstract should follow logically from the title. Abstracts should contain four sections:
- OBJECTIVE: An introduction, stating the hypothesis, purpose, or specific objective of the study.
- METHODS & PROCEDURES: A description of the study design, the subjects and the methods and evaluation procedures used. Documentation of statistical methodology should be included in this section.
- RESULTS: A summary of the results of the study must be included in the abstract. Results should include actual data. Do not include qualitative statements such as “supporting evidence will be provided” or “results will be presented.” Any data provided must either support, confirm, modify, or refute the objectives of the particular study.
- CONCLUSION: A brief statement of the conclusions of the study based on the results should be provided.
Please note: Abstracts that do not comply with the required format will be returned for revision.
Abstracts will not be edited for language, grammar, spelling, readability, or punctuation. Be sure to review your text before submitting. Authors whose primary language is not English should have their papers checked for linguistic accuracy by a person skilled in the English language and in medical terminology.
ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS
Please review all submission instructions before submitting your abstract(s), video(s), or poster(s).
No more than two submissions as a first author/presenter will be accepted.
Registration for Minimally Invasive Surgery Week will open in March 2025. If your materials are accepted, your conference registration fees must be paid by July 13, 2025 in order to remain scheduled for presentation.
Abstracts and other materials that are not submitted in compliance with these instructions, are not in the requested format, or are not received prior to the deadline date may not be considered for evaluation. If you have any questions or difficulties with your submission, please contact the SLS office via email to Abstracts@SLS.org.
IMPORTANT – PLEASE NOTE:
All Scientific Paper, and e-Poster submissions that are scheduled for presentation must provide their completed PowerPoint presentation to SLS NO LATER THAN June 20, 2025 for review by the CE committee. This copy of your presentation will be uploaded to the show computers for presentation in your designated presentation room. You will be provided with a link to a DropBox site for uploading your completed presentation once your meeting registration has been completed and registration fees have been paid. For accepted video submissions, the video that you submitted with your abstract will be used for your presentation.
SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
(Note: e-Poster presenters must also follow the Scientific Poster Submission Instructions; Video presenters must also follow the Video Submission Instructions)
- An online Abstract Submission Form must be completed for each abstract submitted. No more than two submissions as a first author/presenter will be accepted.
- A Disclosure Affidavit must be completed for the presenting author. (PLEASE NOTE: Only one disclosure affidavit is required per person participating in any role of MISWeek 2025.)
- Abstract text (250 words or less) must be entered in the area provided on the online Abstract Submission Form. Product and/or corporate names are NOT allowed in abstract text or your presentation.
- The presenting author must be noted on the abstract submission form by clicking on the box labeled “presenting author.” NOTE: The presenting author does not have to be listed as the first author.
- All text should use upper and lower-case letters, including the title. DO NOT type in all upper-case or all lower-case letters.
- Do not use abbreviations in the title or body of the abstract.
- Abstract text that does not comply with the required format will be returned.
SCIENTIFIC POSTER SUBMISSION
- Poster presenters must also submit the SLS e-Poster Template in PowerPoint in addition to submitting a plain text abstract of the submission content according to the Submission Instructions (above)
- Click here to download e-Poster Instructions and Sample e-Posters
- Complete each section of the template (4 slides). Instructions are included on the template. Do not change the size/parameters of the template. Please be sure to include graphics, charts or tables to illustrate your study. Name the file with Your Last Name, Your First Name (ex: Smith, John.pptx)
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- Slide 1: Title, Author(s), Institute, Country, Summary/Abstract – Background & Objectives, Study Design & Methods, Results, Conclusion
- Slide 2: Background and Objectives
- Slide 3: Study Design and Methods
- Slide 4: Results and Conclusion
- Poster slides that do not comply with the required formatting will be returned. Attach the file to the online Abstract Submission Form.
- Abstracts must adhere to the abstract submission guidelines.
- Authors whose primary language is not English should have their posters checked for linguistic accuracy by a person skilled in the English language and medical terminology.
VIDEO SUBMISSION
In addition to submitting the text of your abstract according to the Submission Instructions, you must upload your video to the SLS DropBox via the link on the Abstract Submission Form. Follow the screen instructions to upload your video. Contact Abstracts@SLS.org if you have any issues uploading your video.
All productions must:
- Be a maximum of eight (8) minutes in length/run time
- Have a file size no larger than 2GB
- Videos must include a spoken narrative explaining the procedure and methods used during the procedure, concluding with the results or purpose of the procedure
- DO NOT include your disclosures in your video presentation.
- Videos must be in mp4 format
- Recommended resolution: 1280 x 720 (16 x 9 HD) and 640 x 480 (4:3 SD); frame rate of 24 fps or higher
- Videos that do not comply with the format requirements will be returned for editing
- Video submissions are to be submitted in final form
NO COMMERCIAL ADVERTISING OR PRODUCT PROMOTION OR COMMERCIAL VIDEOS, CDS, SOFTWARE, OR OTHER ELECTRONIC MEDIA WILL BE ACCEPTED.
Your video will be retained for use by SLS for educational purposes including, conferences, internet and other media, unless there is written notification otherwise.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING YOUR ABSTRACT ONLINE
To submit your abstract online:
Go to https://app.oxfordabstracts.com/stages/35863/submitter to create your account and submit your abstract. You only need to do this once and this will enable you access the online system.
You will be required to enter an email address, create a password, and enter your name. Complete all fields and click on the button labeled “Register”. Please note: If you used our system to submit an abstract for a prior conference, you can use the username/password previously created.
Once registered you can make your submission by completing the fields in the online submission form. Please note that required fields are marked with an asterisk (*).
Submission Tips:
When completing the field for your abstract text, it is easiest to copy and paste straight from a Word document. If your word count is over the 250-word limit, your submission will automatically be marked as incomplete.
Click the button labeled “Submit” at the bottom of the page when you have completed the form.
You can save your submission by pressing “Submit” and return to complete it later.
You will see a pop-up alert if any required fields are left incomplete and your submission will be marked as “incomplete”. Be sure to return to finalize your submission before the deadline.
You will receive an automatic email notification that your submission has been received. It will indicate whether the submission is complete or incomplete.
Click “Back” (top left-hand side of screen) to return to your dashboard, where you can view/edit your submissions or make a new submission (Remember maximum of two submissions per person as first author will be considered).
IMPORTANT – PLEASE NOTE:
All Scientific Paper and Poster submissions that are scheduled for presentation must upload their PowerPoint slides/presentation to SLS NO LATER THAN JUNE 20, 2025 for review by the CE committee. If your presentation is a video, the video that you submitted with your abstract will be reviewed by the CE committee and used for your presentation.
SLS reserves the right to use submitted materials for educational purposes.
Questions: Contact Abstracts@SLS.org