Professor Dr. Wolf-Peter Klövekorn – An Obituary

For more than a quarter of its history, The Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeon was edited by the late Professor Wolf-Peter Klövekorn. His time with us began in 1996, when he took over the journal from Professor Horst Stapenhorst as Editor-in-Chief. A dedicated surgeon and scientist, he soon put his own stamp on The Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeon and significantly shaped its course and development. Part of this enterprise was a reshuffle of the Editorial Board, and some of those first appointed when he took over the Editorship have been supporting him and the journal to this very day. Since those first days, which Professor Klövekorn himself described as making him “much better appreciate the efforts of my predecessors” in his end-of-year editorial of 1996, more than 1500 articles have been published in the The Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeon and many more have passed through his and the so very capable hands of his Editorial Office in Bad Nauheim.

Under his leadership, the journal prided itself of a stable Impact Factor; and while the switch to English as the language of publication came before his editorship, it was under Professor Klövekorn that the journal realised the full potential that this change offered. As the journal's international reputation continued to grow, so did the number of submissions that were worthy of publication, which in turn led to an expansion of the journal and an increasingly international authorship. As such, the success of The Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeon is an apt reflection of Professor Klövekorn's commitment to the journal and to the field of cardiac surgery in general – as was the fact that he remained Editor-in-Chief until a few weeks before his death, ensuring that the journal did not find itself without leadership until a suitable successor had been found.

Yet apart from his outstanding professional achievements, we will remember Professor Klövekorn as a friendly, benevolent and approachable man who it was a privilege and a pleasure to work with. We are deeply moved by his untimely death.

Dr. Wolfram Wiegers Editorial Director Georg Thieme Verlag

Dr. Regina Wenzel Publishing Editor Georg Thieme Verlag