Preface: minimally invasive VATS thymectomy for myasthenia gravis

Dear readers of VATS journal,

It is my honor and pleasure to introduce you this issue about the contemporary techniques in thymectomy for myasthenia gravis. In the last two decades, minimally invasive approaches to thymus became the major challenge in the field of thoracic surgery. Although the resection inside the cavity did not change, alterations mostly occurred in the selection of location of entrance and number of ports. The aim has always been a better operation with lesser pain. In this context, we, minimally invasive surgeons, are always looking for a better way to reproduce the same or better quality of the original sternal thymectomy technique. I would like to thank to contributing authors, who have well deserved reputation in this field. I would like to thank them for sharing their expertise and sharing their tricks with us. I also would like to express my thanks the VATS journal for the organization of this issue and creating a new platform for thoracic surgeons worldwide.

Acknowledgments

Funding: None.

Footnote

Provenance and Peer Review: This article was commissioned by the editorial office, Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery for the series “Minimally invasive VATS thymectomy for Myasthenia Gravis”. 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/vats.2017.05.07). The series “Minimally invasive VATS thymectomy for Myasthenia Gravis” was commissioned by the editorial office without any funding or sponsorship. AT serves as an unpaid editorial board member of Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery from Aug 2016 to May 2019. The author has no other 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/.

Alper Toker