Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to the Section �Cardiac Surgery�.

Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is a standard surgical procedure for treating blocked or narrowed arteries in the heart. This is conventionally done through open-heart surgery, in which the surgeon has to make a large incision and cut through the breastbone to access the heart. CABG effectively improves blood flow to the heart, but the rigors, risks and long recovery time of open-heart surgery mean it's not an option for the many heart disease patients who are elderly, frail or have additional health problems.

Now there's an alternative: minimally invasive CABG. The surgeon accesses the heart through a small incision between the ribs without having to cut bones. The procedure is as effective as the traditional method, but there's a much faster recovery time, a lower risk of complications, and less pain and scarring.

Most candidates for bypass surgery stand to benefit from this minimally invasive option. That's especially true for patients at higher risk from open-heart surgery because of age, frailty or other health conditions � such as obesity, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease � or because they are immunocompromised.

In our hospital, minimally invasive coronary heart surgery has been successfully performed in suitable patients for approximately 1 year. After our case numbers increase, we will present our experience with case results.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Leading Section Editor:

Prof. Bilgehan Erkut

Support Section Editors:

Prof. Oztekin Oto

Dr. Maruti Y Haranal

Dr. Manish Kumar Hinduja

Dr. Swarnika Srivastava