A note of appreciation to the editorial board

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Editing a medical journal is not a one-person job. Without the advice of many wise people with good judgment offering constructive suggestions about the direction of the journal and other matters, the Editor cannot select the right papers. I was privileged to have an outstanding Editorial Board. These people, from all over the world, were picked because of their good judgment. I am especially appreciative of the help of Associate Editors Ezio Di Rocco (Italy), Nancy Epstein (USA), Bernard George (France), Bob Goodkin (USA), Jens Hasse (Denmark), Juha Hernesniemi (Finland), Yucel Kanpolat (Turkey), Ming-Chien Kao (Taiwan), Namio Kodama (Japan), Ben Roitberg (USA), Julio Sotelo (Mexico), Atos de Sousa (Brazil), and Jizong Zhao (China), who I called on frequently for advice and opinions about scientific papers. Each of them are individually outstanding and highly accomplished in their own fields.

Surgical Neurology made a special effort to listen to the people in the developing world. In 1994 (Surg Neurol 42:454-455) I wrote an editorial asking, “Where is the best neurosurgery in the world?” I answered my own question: “It is between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, but GOING BOTH DIRECTIONS.” Yes there are outstanding neurosurgeons and people who do not live in North America or Europe. They are also in South America, Africa, The Middle East, India, Asia, and Australia.

Surgical Neurology made a special effort to publish Supplements from Brazil, Turkey, Taiwan, and China, among others. Each Supplement had its own Editor and Editorial Board chosen locally. The papers were selected for the Supplements in the same way as the monthly Surgical Neurology issues, so the scientific quality was high. These are countries in which it was hard for neurosurgeons to start their own publication for financial reasons, and also because their papers would not be cited in the INDEX MEDICUS. Dr Ming-Chien Kao from Taiwan has done an outstanding job with the Taiwan Supplement. Dr Jizong Zhao, as President of the Chinese Neurosurgical Society, overcame very difficult challenges to start the first Chinese Neurosurgical Journal as a Supplement to Surgical Neurology. I fully expect that with time these countries will have their own publications, helpfully inspired by Surgical Neurology. Similarly, the Brazilians and the Turkish neurosurgical societies had supplements to Surgical Neurology.

A special note of appreciation goes to Ben Roitberg, who wrote the Research News and Notes every month. Ben is an international citizen who reads widely and who is very thoughtful. He did an excellent job analyzing the literature in a meaningful way. Ron Pawl, a good friend from Chicago and member of the Editorial Board as a spine and pain expert, was a terrific advisor. Ben and Ron were often the ones I had read some controversial editorials because I valued their opinions so highly.

Without all of these people, the rest of the Editorial Board, and the hundreds of other reviewers worldwide, this journal would not have achieved the wonderful reception it has had from its readers.

My appreciation to all.