Kaya Sarıbeyoğlu

Dear Readers of the Turkish Journal of Surgery,

The last three decades witnessed many exceptional improvements in surgery, especially in surgical technical advancements and in understanding the pathophysiological background of the diseases. If you take a look at the results of a large nationwide study from the USA, dating back to the 1970’s, you can easily observe remarkable differences with the current status of surgery, in terms of mortality in major operations (1). Undoubtedly, one may link these significant changes to various factors, not only in the surgical field but also in anesthesia, postoperative care and diagnostic abilities. Yet, there is more to this than meets the eye. First of all, some major operations from the study of Luft et al., such as vagotomy, do not exist anymore in our routine practice (1). Throughout time, physicians were able to better understand the pathophysiology of diseases resulted by the disappearances of some frequent operations. Another major surgical evolution was, without a doubt, the introduction of minimally invasive surgery. The current laparoscopic and robotic surgery offer both the chance to operate more precisely and with less surgical trauma. We have not only abandoned some operations but also we now operate very “differently”. The borders and principles minimally invasive surgery are still emerging, and there are still countless points to discuss about.

In this issue, you will have the chance to read an outstanding review article from Nösser et al. about their experience on minimally invasive liver surgery (2). The Department of Surgery of Charité-Universitätsmedizin is one of the leading surgical clinics in Europe. Moreover, this clinic has a worldwide-known reputation in liver surgery. The colleagues share, in their review, the technical details as well as the results of laparoscopic and robotic liver surgery. They also present a clear-cut comparison between both techniques. I am persuaded that you will benefit a lot from this inspiring review, especially to be aware of the limits of this novel complex surgery.

On behalf of the editorial team, I invite you to enjoy all of the interesting articles of the September 2021 issue. Best wishes,

Kaya Sarıbeyoğlu

Editor,

Turkish Journal of Surgery

References

  1. Luft HS, Bunker JP, Enthoven AC. Should operations be regionalized? The empirical relation between surgical volume and mortality. N Engl J Med 1979; 20; 301(25): 1364-9.
  2. Nösser M, Feldbrügge L, Pratschke J. Minimally invasive liver surgery: the Charité experience. Turk J Surg 2021; 37 (3): 199-206.