As Editor-in-Chief of International Surgery, I address the legacy of Dr. Max Thorek, Founder of the International College of Surgeons in 1935. Dr. Max Thorek established International Surgery in 1938 as the Official Journal of the International College of Surgeons. The current mission emphasis of International Surgery is publishing manuscripts focused on humanitarian surgery. Content, peer review procedures, ethics, frequency of publishing, and in general, optimizing the dissemination of scientific and medical information in an efficient manner is the overall goal and mission of International Surgery.
The founding philosophy of Dr. Max Thorek involves a number of principles, including, one, a patient is a person, not a case, and two, that patients should be treated on the basis of need, not on the ability to pay. The International College of Surgeons has the mission of bringing together the leaders of surgery of other nations of the world. The International College of Surgeons was to be not merely a surgical society, in which membership would be a coveted mark of distinction for a few fortunate men, but a true College whose prime function would be to teach all who thirsted for knowledge.
The legacy of Dr. Max Thorek is as applicable today as in 1935, if not even more so. I, as Editor-in-Chief of International Surgery, have had and continue to have the humanitarian goal of fulfilling the vision of Dr. Max Thorek with International Surgery.
I welcome any questions or comments that you may have.
Sincerely,
Professor Christopher Chen
Editor-in-Chief
International Surgery