Q&A with Matthias Siepe

Oxford University Press is pleased to welcome Matthias Siepe as the new Editor-in-Chief of Interactive CardioVascular and Thoracic Surgery (ICVTS). We got to know Matthais during an interview and discovered how he came to specialise in cardiovascular surgery, how he sees this field in the future, and what he has in store for ICTVS.

What encouraged you to pursue a career in the field of cardio-thoracic surgery?

As a third year medical student, I attended a research project of one of my fellow students. Hearts from non-heart-beating donors were transplanted into a porcine model. I was astonished by this work and thrilled to watch the heart start beating after the arrest period.

I was a member of this group for the following four years and performed several experiments while on this team, including the first surgical procedures I did myself. After finishing university, it felt natural to simply continue with my experimental work, and develop my education at the Cardiovascular Clinic – this felt like the logical career path.

What do you think are the challenges being faced in this field today?

The high degree of professionalisation in many procedures, and the new technology available for various indications have led to clear specialisation within our field. We have TAVI specialists, VATS specialists, aortic specialists, minimal-invasive mitral specialists, off-pump CABG specialists, et cetera. On top of that, there is in many fields significant overlap with our colleagues the interventional cardiologists, radiologists, pulmonologists, or angiologists. Ideally, these “neighbouring” specialists form a multidisciplinary team. Such multidisciplinary activities impact on treatment quality in a very positive way. The drafting of common guidelines informs this development.

However, the challenges occur in less advantageous circumstances, where specialist groups in centres might counteract each other. Whenever that happens, there is a chance that the quality of patient care is compromised, adequate training is impossible, and the professional atmosphere is destroyed.

Matthais Siepe, the new Editor-in-Chief for ICVTS. Authors’ own photograph.

How do you see cardio-thoracic surgery developing in the future?

The sub-specialisation in our surgical field together with the neighbouring disciplines makes the matrix-like structures of clinics necessary. Some may think that by working together in a team to treat coronary heart disease, that the surgeon’s role is lost in the interventionist department; however this is not something that I fear. In hospital structures, this readjustment is certain to consume a lot of time and energy. We must ensure that surgical training and scientific developments are further improved in what is an undoubtedly changing environment.

What are you most looking forward to about being the Editor-in-Chief of ICVTS?

Coming into contact with and getting to know a lot of interesting people is such a major privilege in this position. Continuously being informed about leading-edge science in all fields is another privilege. I am deeply honoured to have been chosen for this position, and I will fill it with energy and respect.

How do you see the ICVTS developing in the future?

The ICVTS started as an exciting and innovative journal for the , whereby different publication types and interactive formats were tested. Most of the regular articles it published in the past few years were transferred from EJCTS. We are in the process of changing this, with an increasing rate of de novo submissions to ICVTS. With its Impact Factor allocation, the interactive Journal is in a strong position among other cardiothoracic surgical journals. I will work on sharpening the Journal’s innovative and interactive profile while enhancing its professionalism.

What do you think readers will take away from the ICVTS?

First and foremost, the ICVTS is a scientific journal, and we function from this professional perspective. We provide ICVTS readers with condensed and important practical information suitable for their daily routine (e.g. in the best evidence topic articles). I think that digesting this content should be fun. In order to make reading the ICVTS enjoyable, the aim is to make the content more appealing by including innovations, technical highlights and opinions from leaders in the field. The Journal’s appearance will not change much immediately, but it will change over time. We will continue to track the number of downloads, citations, and clicks of our content in order to adapt the Journal to its readers’ demands.

Featured image credit: Image provided by CC0 Public Domain via PixaBay.

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