Letter From the Editor-in-Chief

Dear Colleagues:

I would like to extend my personal welcome to the new journal AORTA, an open access, peer-reviewed publication.

It has been a dream of mine for many years to have a journal where all physicians and researchers with an interest in the aorta could turn for information and cross-fertilization of ideas. Now, with the support of the respected publisher, Dr. Steven Korn and Science International, AORTA has become a reality.

We hope that AORTA will become an important platform for the sharing of scientific information regarding this vital organ, which is “much more than a tube.”

Specific distinguishing characteristics for this journal include the following:

Multidisciplinary nature

We all have our own journals, but we are often isolated from those of colleagues in other specialties. This journal is designed to include and welcome specialists in cardiac surgery, vascular surgery, cardiology, radiology, genetics, engineering, and molecular biology, among others. We have features and sections to appeal to each of these specialties and we look forward to dialogue among these specialties via this journal.

Creative features

We want our readership to look forward to each issue of this journal just as much as their favorite nonmedical magazine, the way I look forward to my Road & Track or Car & Driver. For this reason, we have features such as “What I Did” and “Every Day's a School Day: Pearls and Pitfalls Learned Along the Way” as well as other creative features, such as regular plain-talk didactic segments on related scientific disciplines, transcripts of expert panels on controversial topics, and interviews with thought leaders. We are pleased to present early scientific studies representing truly novel ideas, often before large-scale investigations have been performed. Each major article is accompanied by a brief commentary by a member of the Editorial Board or an invited essayist, thus providing a perspective on the strengths and potential weakness of scientific papers. Please refer to the AORTA website to see the list of featured segments (http://aorta.scienceinternational.org).

An eye on industry

Just as Dr. Korn's PACE journal catalyzed the interaction between the pacing industry and scientific progress, we wish to keep a close eye on new products, technologies, and devices from our industrial colleagues. Our specialty is dependent on the products available for aortic replacement or reconstruction. Our regular industry features and engineering articles will keep us up-to-date on new products and technologies.

Freedom of online format

We welcome figures, diagrams, and videos, as we will not be hindered by the usual constraints of print journals. Likewise, the online format will permit an immediacy in publication.

International scope

We have configured a distinguished Editorial Board, purposely international in scope, so that we can each learn from concepts and techniques around the globe. The distinguished Dr. Michael Jacobs, our Coeditor-in-Chief, represents the European continent, and all regions of the globe are included.

Interactivity

We have built-in interactivity within AORTA. You can write a comment on any article or feature, which will be included in a rolling dialogue for each article (subject, of course, to some editorial filtering to assure constructive, noninflammatory interaction). You can send a question, privately or publically, to the author of an article. You can query the Editorial Board regarding an article, a practice, or a technique. You can click on any product mentioned in a scientific article and, via a hyperlink, go to a pertinent Web page with information about that product. In a sense, we wish to be, to some extent, a site for interaction, as well as a journal.

Responsiveness

We wish to hear from you about suggested features or enhancements. We can be fluid in our formatting, and we are sure that we will receive excellent suggestions.

AORTA is a vehicle for all of us. We welcome your submissions and we welcome your comments.

Please note that the journal AORTA starts with an article volunteered by none other than the individual who “invented” aortic surgery and wrote its history via his bold creativity, innovation, intuition, and unparalleled surgical skills: For Article 1, Volume 1, Issue 1, Dr. Denton Cooley gives us “A Brief History of Surgery for Aortic Aneurysms,” as well as his best wishes for the journal.

So, we welcome you to AORTA. Let's start a journey together to enhance communication and clinical and scientific progress in aortic diseases.

Sincerely,

John A. Elefteriades, MD

Editor-in-Chief

AORTA