New in 2005

Starting with this issue of Clinics in Colon and Rectal Surgery, readers and subscribers will notice several changes and what we hope will be improvements. The Editorial Board has been expanded with the addition of an international member. I am pleased to welcome Dr. Martin E. Kreis from Germany.

Dr. Kreis attended medical school at the University of Tuebingen, Germany, and has recently assumed the position of Staff Surgeon at Ludwigs-Maximilian University, Munich, Germany. He has a major clinical interest in surgical therapy of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, surgical oncology, and minimally invasive surgery. We are pleased he has accepted our invitation to join the Board.

The Editorial Board and publisher continue their efforts to increase the value of the journal to our readers. Clinics in Colon and Rectal Surgery is committed to publishing topical reviews and other material in the field of colon and rectal surgery. The majority of articles will be related to a topic of interest to colon and rectal surgeons. In support of our efforts to get Clinics listed in Index Medicus, we will begin accepting selected articles (reviews, original manuscripts, significant case reports) to supplement the topic-related manuscripts currently included in each issue. The Editorial Board will consider submitted manuscripts and editorials for acceptance according to the Instructions to Authors, which will be included in the first issue of each year and which can be obtained from the publisher's Web site at www.thieme.com/ccr.

The Editorial Board is interested in responding to our readers. Suggestions and comments, especially topics of interest, should be sent to the Editor in Chief.