Midst of Summer

I work as a thoracic surgeon specializing in the lung, pleura, and mediastinum at a hospital in Osaka, Japan. Right now, Japan is in the midst of summer. In some cities in Japan, the maximum temperature exceeds 40 °C (104 °F) and humidity rises above 95%. The minimum temperature at night is above 28 °C (82.4 °F) in many Japanese cities. In recent years, temperature and humidity in Japan have been rising.

Japan has a rainy season called “Tsuyu,” which usually lasts from June to July. Due to the weak Japanese Yen, many foreign tourists are visiting Japan, but this is not an ideal time for tourism. If you plan to visit Japan, please avoid the rainy season. This year, Osaka's rainy season “Tsuyu” ended in late June, the earliest on record.

Have you finished your summer vacation? Are you planning to take one soon? I hope all of you have a wonderful summer vacation. Although the summer vacation for thoracic surgeons in Japan is the longest vacation in a year, it is actually short, with an average of only a few days to a week. Instead of summer vacation, thoracic surgeons in Japan enjoy the pleasant atmosphere in operating rooms (OR). The temperature in OR is kept around 23 °C (73.4 °F), and the humidity is low. After summer vacation, please submit your manuscripts to The Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeon. Those who have received review requests are kindly asked to accept them.

For Issue 6, as Editor-in-Chief of Thoracic, I have selected three papers. The Thoracic theme is “Lobectomy.” Interesting papers on the techniques (Fiorelli et al[1]), complications (Bellini et al[2]), and postoperative delirium (Xue et al[3]) related to “lobectomy” are featured.

Fiorelli et al[1] reported a simple technique of simultaneous ligation of hilar structures to facilitate thoracoscopic right upper lobectomy. Bellini et al[2] concluded that the crural diaphragm density seems to be a simple and useful tool for predicting respiratory complications after video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery lobectomy, especially among current smokers. Xue et al[3] developed and assessed a novel nomogram predicting the risk of postoperative delirium in patients undergoing lobectomy. All three thoracic manuscripts include useful information, so please refer to them.

Publication History

Article published online:
02 September 2025

• References

• 1 Fiorelli A, Di Filippo V, Vicario G, Capasso F. Retrograde simultaneous ligation of apico-ventral vessels during VATS RUL. Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2025; 73 (06) 514-517
• 2 Bellini A, Vizzuso A, Sterrantino S. et al. Crural diaphragm density in respiratory complications after video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery lobectomy. Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2024; 73 (06) 498-504
• 3 Xue Y, Yu R, Wang W. et al. Predicting the risk of postoperative delirium in patients undergoing lobectomy: Development and assessment of a novel nomogram. Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2025; 73 (06) 505-513