The Annals of Thoracic Surgery: The First 50 Years

In the early “60s” the founding fathers of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons recognized the need for a new organization to represent the increasing interests of a few pioneers and many young surgeons in the nascent surgery of cardiac, aortic, pulmonary, and esophageal diseases. Progressive and steady advances in knowledge and technology fueled this movement. Beginning with cardiac catheterization incremental advances followed over the next few decades. These included the heart lung machine; physiologic measurements of lung and cardiac function; new drugs and anesthetics; knowledge of blood chemistry; new imaging technology; valve and vascular prostheses; heart and lung transplantation; reconstructive valve surgery; fiber optics; minimally invasive and endovascular procedures; and enlightened intraoperative and postoperative care. Our progress was not singular; indeed innovation and discovery in virtually every aspect of human endeavor grew at historically unprecedented rates during this half century.The tabulated data below, promised in the January 2014 Supplement (Ann Thorac Surg 2014;97:S18), reflects not only the growth of The Annals, but also the growth and maturation of our discipline (Table 1). The increase in circulation documents rapid growth during our first 30 years following the advent of myocardial revascularization procedures; operations for complex congenital malformations, valve replacement; and advances in lung and esophageal cancer surgery. More recently, aortic operations, valve repair, endovascular valve replacement, and use of circulatory assist devices have helped to sustain this momentum. In 1989, when Elsevier became publisher, the number of published pages and total published articles increased dramatically. After 1999 subscriptions began to decrease, as the cardiothoracic workforce consolidated. Yet in the last decade submissions of total articles and original scientific articles have continued to rise, as our acceptance rates have fallen. The other metrics in the table are self explanatory.Table 1Snapshot of The Annals' Statistics From 1969–20141969197419791984198919941999200420092014Circulation2,7334,6886,4007,7848,00110,00410,31310,0918,996aUpon re-inspection of 2009 data, the circulation figure was found to be 8,996 instead of 9,002, as previously reported in the January 2014 Supplement to The Annals.8,676Total submissions-----1,4732,1842,7453,1303,587OA submissions-----5969151,1521,2071,555Total articles published1561642422835139981,2661,2211,1541,209Total OAs published82105129155233449508537428486Acceptance rate-----76.50%55.80%46.10%39.20%31.30%Pages published1,1901,3141,2201,2141,9073,6944,6284,7714,3024,840Meeting papers submitted-----135127160257328Impact factorNANA1.3991.3591.5751.6512.0222.2443.6443.631bThis is the impact factor datum available in June 2014 and pertains to articles published in 2011 and 2012 that were cited in 2013.Total citationsNANA2,3383,1974,4137,47817,20921,50026,93330,335- = unknown; NA = not applicable; OA = original article.a Upon re-inspection of 2009 data, the circulation figure was found to be 8,996 instead of 9,002, as previously reported in the January 2014 Supplement to The Annals.b This is the impact factor datum available in June 2014 and pertains to articles published in 2011 and 2012 that were cited in 2013. Open table in a new tab In the early “60s” the founding fathers of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons recognized the need for a new organization to represent the increasing interests of a few pioneers and many young surgeons in the nascent surgery of cardiac, aortic, pulmonary, and esophageal diseases. Progressive and steady advances in knowledge and technology fueled this movement. Beginning with cardiac catheterization incremental advances followed over the next few decades. These included the heart lung machine; physiologic measurements of lung and cardiac function; new drugs and anesthetics; knowledge of blood chemistry; new imaging technology; valve and vascular prostheses; heart and lung transplantation; reconstructive valve surgery; fiber optics; minimally invasive and endovascular procedures; and enlightened intraoperative and postoperative care. Our progress was not singular; indeed innovation and discovery in virtually every aspect of human endeavor grew at historically unprecedented rates during this half century. The tabulated data below, promised in the January 2014 Supplement (Ann Thorac Surg 2014;97:S18), reflects not only the growth of The Annals, but also the growth and maturation of our discipline (Table 1). The increase in circulation documents rapid growth during our first 30 years following the advent of myocardial revascularization procedures; operations for complex congenital malformations, valve replacement; and advances in lung and esophageal cancer surgery. More recently, aortic operations, valve repair, endovascular valve replacement, and use of circulatory assist devices have helped to sustain this momentum. In 1989, when Elsevier became publisher, the number of published pages and total published articles increased dramatically. After 1999 subscriptions began to decrease, as the cardiothoracic workforce consolidated. Yet in the last decade submissions of total articles and original scientific articles have continued to rise, as our acceptance rates have fallen. The other metrics in the table are self explanatory. - = unknown; NA = not applicable; OA = original article.