Perspectives at the End...

At the end of this supplemental issue on behalf of Prof. Mohr we would like to thank all our colleagues who actively contributed to it. It is always an extra task to take time off a busy schedule to write a manuscript, but we felt immediate support and great enthusiasm from the authors of this issue when we asked them for their topical and personal reviews. We also like to express our great gratitude to Markus Heinemann, Editor-in-Chief of the journal, who not only helped editing all articles, but managed to meet the tight and ambitious timeline to get this issue in print. Without his strong professional and personal support this supplement would not have been possible.

A lot of good things have been said about Prof. Mohr in this very personal and not so much scientific collection of manuscripts representing a reflection on a long and successful surgical career. On behalf of all colleagues we would like to thank you, Friedrich W. Mohr, Fred, personally for being such a great person, teacher, colleague, and friend. You inspired many of us throughout your great career and many of your thoughts and visions will persist in our daily practice. At the end we try to summarize some of the key lessons that will continue to impact our future cardiac surgical practice:

Fred, you are a great leader in surgery who led his unit from the operating theater, based on the principles of a broad and scientific knowledge and on an exceptionally high level of surgical skills. It was neither too much work nor ever too late to ask you for advice, in person or on the phone. You were the perfect role model especially in critical situations which we all were to experience throughout our careers. It is in such moments that charisma and leadership count.

Fred, you embraced minimally invasive surgical techniques at a very early stage, incessantly striving for perfection. In a constant effort to advance our specialty for the better you always walked “the extra mile” to reduce invasiveness, increase patient comfort, and to optimize outcomes. By implementing minimally invasive techniques into daily practice, starting in the mid-1990s, you were far ahead of time. Right now you can witness that not all but most of your visions became reality, with minimally invasive cardiac surgical techniques having been implemented at many centers around the world. This would not have been possible without your numerous international collaborations and the openness to share your techniques with all the colleagues who visited your center throughout the years.

Fred, you are one of the fathers of the “Heart Team”, a rather old concept that most people took for granted and some regarded old fashioned. You revived the concept with the SYNTAX-Trial, and ever since it has been rejuvenated and found its way into the recent version of European and American guidelines. This is clearly one of the most important among the many of your achievements, which will help us to provide those who need us most, our patients, with the best treatment that we as a team can deliver.

We thank you for sharing your thoughts and skills with us throughout your career and are grateful for your friendship. We will try our best to keep the “Leipzig Spirit” alive and do our best to continue your legacy.

On behalf of the alumni and the current team members in deep respect we

THANK YOU, FRED!