This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Author home page(s): Andre P. Naef Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Naef, A. P. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Naef, A. P. Related Collections Education Peripheral vascular Professional affairs Related Article

ICVTS on-line discussion A

Lausanne University, Switzerland

How to retrain the cardiothoracic surgeon

eComment: A long time ago, before intratracheal anesthesia and the heart-lung machine, pioneer surgeons, usually of the younger generation (Gross, 31 years old, Bailey, Henry Swan, Blakemore) as well as surgically inclined physicians (Forlanini, Jacobaeus, e.a.) tried to overcome apparently insurmountable difficulties (aortic wiring!) Many of these pioneers paved the way to modern cardio-thoracic surgery of the 20th century.

Again, during the last decade of the last century, another generation of pioneer surgeons – as well as physicians discovered that ‘small is beautiful’ and opened the road to what is often ironically called ‘keyhole surgery’, by now in the 21st century in full progression.

Unfortunately for our surgical corporation ‘interventional’ pneumologists, cardiologists and radiologists were beginning to occupy the territory and have successfully approached major surgical problems a few years ago, a no-man's land for them! Thus we, as surgeons, are in the middle of an ongoing competition for the adequate – even if combined – approach of essentially major surgical problems. Therefore, endeavours like the one of Wheatley and Diethrich [1] are so important. The editor as well as far-seeing surgeons of the older generation can only encourage these young pioneers to go on discovering the frontier between reasonable ‘keyhole surgery’ and the still unavoidable major cardio-thoracic surgery. It is in the interest of our patients that we find out how far we can safely go with innovations and where well-established classical procedures remain the ‘gold standard’.

	References

Top References

 

1. Wheatley GH, Diethrich EB. How to retrain the cardiothoracic surgeon. Interact CardioVasc Thorac Surg 2006; 5:236–238.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Author home page(s): Andre P. Naef Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Naef, A. P. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Naef, A. P. Related Collections Education Peripheral vascular Professional affairs Related Article