Foreword

Abstract

As most readers know, the Clinics of North America series has a long and illustrious history. The Clinics were introduced in February 1912 with the publication of the first issue of The Surgical Clinics of North America, then known as the Surgical Clinics of John B. Murphy, MD, at Mercy Hospital, Chicago. The scope of the Clinics now includes 57 separate series, with various subspecialty surgery titles. Many of the Clinics have a Consulting Editor who is an internationally recognized expert in the subspecialty. They are responsible for choosing topics and identifying Guest Editors for each issue. The Guest Editors identify appropriate content for each issue and select authors to write the individual manuscripts. This format has now achieved a venerable place in the medical and surgical literature, and the Clinics are regarded as an authoritative source for clinical information written and edited by leaders in the field. The Chest Surgery Clinics of North America series is undergoing some important changes. During the past year, this series introduced a new Consulting Editor. To the founding Consulting Editor for this series, Dr. L. Penfield Faber, we express gratitude on behalf of thousands of readers who have benefited from the extraordinary work he did for over 12 years. That this series is among the most popular of its kind is due entirely to his foresight and editorial skills. Maintaining this legacy will be a tremendous challenge, one that we relish. Also, to better serve the readership, beginning in 2004, the Chest Surgery Clinics of North America has enhanced its cover art, enlarged its format, and adopted a different title. The updated cover design will now include artwork relevant to the issue's topic, and the overall size of the issue has been increased to accommodate tables and illustrations more effectively. Finally, the title has been changed to the Thoracic Surgery Clinics to better reflect the contents and the international character of the readership and the authors. Finally, we are pleased to announce that the Clinics are now available online at www.TheClinics.com. Subscribers to the printed version of the Clinics will receive access to the online version at no additional cost. We encourage all readers to visit TheClinics.com to explore the features of the Web site, including full text of all issues from 2002 to the present, comprehensive search capabilities, and links to MEDLINE and other Elsevier journals. It is our hope that these changes will enhance the experience of the readership by providing the same outstanding content they are accustomed to but in a more accessible format. We welcome your comments regarding these changes. Mark K. Ferguson, MD Catherine A. Bewick Consulting Editors