Introduction of new section “Case Reports in Thoracic Surgery”

It is our privilege to introduce a novel special section of the Journal of Xiangya Medicine (JXYM) entitled “Case Reports in Thoracic Surgery”. Case reports in Thoracic Surgery, like case reports in general, are difficult to publish in the current literature. Even if the clinical report is well written, focused on an interesting topic, and accompanied by attractive images and/or videos, many journals do not consider case reports for publication. The decision not to publish case reports is often justified by the perceived low scientific value and the expected limited number of citations.

On the other hand, a case report describing a challenging surgical procedure or a difficult diagnostic workup has didactic value in the daily clinical management of our patients, in particular those with unusual and complex clinical scenarios. Further, the scientific community and in particular established investigators should not forget that the academic career of many young surgeons often begins with a published case report.

The aim of this section is to promote the publication of outstanding case reports in all fields of thoracic surgery, enhancing the discussion between surgeons and affiliated specialists. Specifically, we are interested in those submissions that describe the experience with a diagnostic conundrum or a challenging surgical procedure, and clearly develop a valuable teaching point. Submissions will be selected along these criteria by a rigorous internal and external review process. A special invitation is addressed to young thoracic surgeons who would like to collaborate with us and support this section.

Acknowledgments

Funding: None.

Footnote

Provenance and Peer Review: This article was commissioned by the editorial office, Journal of Xiangya Medicine. The article did not undergo external peer review.

Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/jxym.2017.12.01). FD serves as an unpaid editorial board member of Journal of Xiangya Medicine from Jul 2017 to Jun 2019. JZH and PS serve as the Editors-in-Chief of Journal of Xiangya Medicine. The authors have no other conflicts of interest to declare.

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