The year in cardiovascular surgery.

C l t d a s a m l F w g b t L a p T T d 1 2 m t is a great challenge to take over the responsibility of roviding readers of the JACC with this annual review that ighlights key contributions in the cardiovascular surgery iterature. This task has been handled with remarkable and nviable efficiency by Robert H. Jones, MD, over the past 5 ears. During the series, Dr. Jones altered the format from ime to time, generally focusing on reports linking outcomes f patients to decisions about whether an operation should e done. Recognizing the increasing awareness of patients egarding the “how” of surgical procedures, he also sought to ighlight relevant data that would help practicing cardiolgists counsel patients regarding surgical strategy. This year we will continue to highlight articles describing utcomes as well as strategy in cardiovascular surgery that racticing cardiovascular specialists will find informative nd relevant to patient care. We have organized original rticles around general topics, and provide insight into the otential relevance or methodological flaws that readers hould consider when evaluating their significance.