Editorial: Case reports in heart surgery 2024

Abstract

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For the second consecutive year, I had the pleasure and honor of coordinating the (fourth) Research Topic of “Case Reports in Heart Surgery” by Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine and Frontiers in Surgery. I am sincerely grateful to the Editors-in-Chief for their renewed trust.

As with the previous edition, the objective for the 2024 Research Topic was to feature unique cases of patients that present with an unexpected diagnosis, treatment outcomes, or clinical courses. Only original Case Reports that will significantly advance the field of cardiac surgery were considered, in my opinion and that of the Reviewers who collaborated with me throughout the manuscript review process. Rare cases with typical features, frequent cases with atypical features, and cases with a convincing response to new treatments were included in the present Research Topic.

The (undeclared) goal was also to match the excellent results achieved by the 2023 edition of the Research Topic, which has received over 26,000 views to date. I am confident! The contributions selected in this 2024 edition are also rare and original clinical cases that could offer readers of Frontiers many points of interest and reflection.

The Research Topic consists of 15 articles written by a total of 80 Authors from seven countries (China, Colombia, Russia, Singapore, Switzerland, Türkiye, and the United States) spanning four different continents. To date, the Research Topic has already received over 17,000 views.

The main issues addressed in the present Research Topic are

• -The growing importance of minimally invasive surgery and interventional techniques and technologies (Tian et al., Peng et al., Idu et al., Çetinarslan and Saba, Bidovecet al., Xia et al., Aigumov et al., Chen et al.), and, inevitably, of their complications (Tian et al., Peng et al., Idu et al.). Obviously, the “minimally invasive” concept should be understood in a broad sense, including minimal, mechanical, and/or biological (humoral and cellular) invasiveness;
• -The essential need for multimodal imaging for complex cardiovascular lesions (Tian et al., Lianget al., Shan et al., Peng et al., Idu et al., Bidovecet al., Xia et al., Yang et al., Aigumov et al., Chen et al., Ma et al.);
• -The essential need for a multidisciplinary approach to diseases involving multiple organs or systems, including the heart (Wang et al., Lianget al., Peng et al., Nunez-Ordonez et al., Idu et al., Çetinarslan and Saba, Bidovecet al., Xia et al., Rodgers et al., Yang et al., Chen et al., Ma et al.). To improve patient outcomes, in addition to the cardiologist and cardiac surgeon, other healthcare professionals, each within their own area of expertise, should also be involved in the management of complex cardiac patients and/or diseases. This is in accordance with the Latin maxim, “Unicuique suum” (To each his/her own);
• -The significant role of sometimes neglected (albeit life-threatening) complications such as sternal wound infections (Wang et al., Idu et al., Rodgers et al.) and pericardial effusion (Idu et al.); An interesting report on two unresolved cases of late aortic endograft infection complicated by peri-aortic abscess (Peng et al.) was (perhaps improperly) included in the present Research Topic of case reports on heart surgery to familiarize cardiac surgeons with endovascular repair of the thoracic aorta and its rare but catastrophic complications involving the mediastinum.

I synthesized the main message of each contribution to the present Research Topic in Table 1.

In the 2023 Editorial (1), I stated: “Personally, I am particularly fond of the Case Reports sections of surgical Journals because they often include interesting and innovative contributions. The clinical presentation, diagnostic process and effective surgical treatment of rare conditions offer the reader stimulating food for thought. Sometimes there are reported cases of failure but of great educational value. However, Case Reports sections are increasingly rare nowadays in scientific Journals where more value is placed on large-scale studies such as multicenter studies, randomized controlled trials or meta-analyses. (..) Both for Heart Surgery and Interventional Cardiology, the most advanced frontiers of the disciplines are often glimpsed by analyzing Case Reports!”. [SIC] Today, after reviewing dozens of Case Reports for Frontiers, I agree with myself more than ever.

In closing, I would like to sincerely thank all the valuable Reviewers and Co-editors who helped me with my task. I have certainly learned a great deal from them throughout this experience. In addition, I would like to thank all the members of the Editorial Offices of the two valuable scientific Journals for supporting me at every step of this experience. Thank you again to everyone!