Greetings from the Guest Editors
Abstract
I am honored to have been selected as guest editor for this special edition titled, ‘The Image-Guided Surgery, the Next Step in the Evolution of Surgery’, on behalf of the International Journal of Gastrointestinal Intervention (IJGII).
Together with the co-guest editor, Eduardo Houghton we have selected topics ranging from robotics to percutaneous image-guided surgery. We have also incorporated, in this issue of the International Journal of Gastrointestinal Intervention, a view on the possible future of gastrointestinal interventionism, where images, robotics and artificial intelligence will possibly determine our professional practice.
To achieve these ambitious goals, we have convened expert surgeons and radiologists to write on these topics. Many thanks to them for their excellent and selfless work.
Thanks to all the excellent IJGII team for their extraordinary work. Without them, this number could not have come out.
Finally, we believe the traditional idea that surgeons operate and the other specializations diagnose no longer holds.
Over the second half of last century increased technological innovation has led to the development of new ideas, methods and equipment. As a consequence, the boundaries between medical specializations have begun to blur.
The notion of distinct medical Departments (Surgery, Clinical Medicine, Radiology, etc.) is a structure that fit nineteenth century requirements, but it is unproductive in relation to the needs of the twenty first century. The concept of multi disciplinary teams has been developed in order to correct this. Far from solving the problem, the development of these teams has shown the increased need to spend time with those who treat the same conditions regardless of our background. An hour a week is not enough; we need to be in contact on a full time basis.
The traditional idea of meeting and working as a group in terms of “who we are”, following the departmental logic, is shifting toward the idea of teams that work together on the basis of “what and who we treat”. Centuries of egocentric behavior are being pushed aside in favor of true teamwork focused on the patient and their problems.
We are living a fundamental change in our profession. And it’s fascinating.