Welcome to the Annals of Laparoscopic and Endoscopic Surgery

Dear friends,

It’s been a century since Dr. Hans Christian Jacobaeus performed the first clinical laparoscopic operation in Sweden. Owing to the extraordinary effort of numerous experts and the rapid development of modern technique, endoscopy has been moving forward in a fast pace, especially in the field of laparoscopic surgery.

Nowadays, with only small incisions, the laparoscopic approach not only enhances visualization for surgeons, but, more importantly, improves patient outcomes. Short-term benefits of laparoscopic surgery include less intra-operative hemorrhage, decreased post-operative morbidities such as wound infections and incisional hernias, minimized post-operative pain and fast recovery. Moreover, substantial evidence has accumulated, including evidence from well-recognized randomized controlled trials, to support that for certain types of cancer, like colorectal cancer, laparoscopic surgery results in similar oncologic outcomes compared to open surgery. Thus, more and more surgical sub-specialties are now showing their preference to this procedure for the benefits of patients.

However, laparoscopic surgery is not a perfect choice without a single flaw or risk. Compared to traditional open surgery, this procedure does not allow for the tactile sensations which regulate the force being applied, hence it offers a lower degree of dexterity and requires long hours of practice. Let alone the truth that some risks still exist, for example, the most significant risks are from trocar injuries during insertion into the abdominal cavity. Therefore, when one procedure is widely used and commonly applied given its great benefits, we must as well keep cautious when it comes to patients’ benefits.

Then, here comes the Annals of Laparoscopic and Endoscopic Surgery (ALES), a brand new journal aiming at prompting better development of laparoscopic and endoscopic surgery worldwide. It’ll serve as a worldwide forum for surgeons to share their original research findings and innovations in practice and technique, which in turn benefits patients.

The journal welcomes a wide range of submission types, including high-quality research, clinical trials reports, technique reports, review articles, video clips, editorial letter, etc. Articles will be solicited from recognized experts in these fields, while submissions for peer review will also be considered.

For medical students, ALES will be a learning platform to learn and strengthen skills; for expert surgeons, a professional platform to share and perfect themselves; and for patients, a favorable platform to broaden knowledge in laparoscopic surgery. The ALES thereby seeks to represent a source of the latest progress in laparoscopic and endoscopic surgery not only for surgeons but more importantly, to bring positive result to patients all around the globe.

Time to make a bigger move in the laparoscopic and endoscopic field! Let’s join the journey together with ALES to make the laparoscopic and endoscopic world a better place for patients!

Acknowledgments

Funding: None.

Footnote

Provenance and Peer Review: This article was commissioned by the editorial office, Annals of Laparoscopic and Endoscopic Surgery. The article did not undergo external peer review.

Conflicts of Interest: The author has completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/ales.2016.04.01). The author has no conflicts of interest to declare.

Ethical Statement: The author is accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the non-commercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.