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The Annals of Thoracic Surgery is the official international peer-reviewed medical journal of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) and the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association (STSA). Published monthly by Elsevier since 1965, the journal provides authoritative clinical research, surgical innovations, and educational coverage across adult cardiac, congenital heart, general thoracic, and chest wall surgery.
Operating as a hybrid journal, the publication allows authors to choose between traditional subscription publishing with zero author page charges or Gold open access supported by an article processing charge. With full indexing in MEDLINE and an established Clarivate Journal Citation Reports impact factor of 5.3, the publication represents one of the most cited surgical periodicals in the world.
Who runs it and what it covers
The Annals of Thoracic Surgery is governed jointly by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) and the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association (STSA). Editorial leadership is headed by Editor-in-Chief Joanna Chikwe, MD, alongside Senior Editor Dr. Robbin Cohen and an international editorial board of cardiothoracic surgeons, biostatisticians, and educators. Publishing and worldwide digital distribution are managed through Elsevier Inc.
The journal considers roughly 4,000 manuscript submissions annually under rigorous peer-review standards. Its clinical and academic scope centers on five core operative domains:
- Adult Cardiac Surgery: Coronary revascularization, aortic and mitral valve repair or replacement, thoracic aortic surgery, mechanical circulatory support, and heart failure operations.
- General Thoracic and Esophageal Surgery: Oncologic pulmonary resections, mediastinal tumors, chest wall reconstructions, esophageal neoplasms, and benign esophageal disorders.
- Congenital Heart Surgery: Neonatal, pediatric, and adult congenital defect repairs, structural reconstructions, and staged palliations.
- Thoracic Transplantation: Heart and lung transplantation, donor organ preservation, and ex vivo perfusion.
- Registry Analytics and Quality: Multicenter investigations utilizing the STS National Database, surgical quality metrics, and clinical practice guidelines.
The annals of thoracic surgery journal accepts original laboratory and clinical investigations, new technology reports, and outcomes analyses. Instructional formats include “How To Do It” articles detailing operative technique nuances and “How I Teach It” manuscripts focused on surgical education. Standalone case reports are redirected to the companion open-access title, Annals Short Reports.
How to search, access, and submit manuscripts
Accessing the literature and submitting manuscripts follows structured workflows established by STS and Elsevier:
- Accessing Journal Records: Browse monthly issues and articles in press through the official STS publications portal or via Elsevier ScienceDirect, which hosts over 48,000 indexed records for the title.
- Syncing Account Access: STS members receive a complimentary digital subscription. Linking your STS credentials with the Elsevier subscription system enables single sign-on (SSO) to view full-text articles without maintaining separate logins.
- Subscribing to Topic Collections: Select from 12 specialized topic collections—such as Aorta, Congenital & Pediatric, Mediastinum & Esophagus, or Perioperative & Critical Care—to receive automated email alerts for new subspecialty research.
- Formatting the Manuscript: Prepare manuscripts in accordance with the Guide for Authors. Submissions require structured abstracts (up to 250 words), standard reporting guidelines (such as CONSORT or STROBE), and reference formatting compliant with the American Medical Association (AMA) style.
- Completing Disclosures: Supply compulsory statements during upload, including International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) conflict of interest forms, institutional review board (IRB) ethics approval, grant funding numbers, and a formal data availability statement.
- Submitting Through Editorial Manager: Submit blinded manuscript files, tables, figures, and supplemental media via the Elsevier Editorial Manager portal. Authors track peer review, revision requests, and editorial decisions directly within the dashboard.
Editorial strengths and publication limits
Evaluating The Annals of Thoracic Surgery involves balancing its high citation visibility against editorial selectivity and publication fees:
Editorial and Bibliometric Strengths
- High Disciplinary Citation Impact: Clarivate Analytics Journal Citation Reports assigns the journal an impact factor of 5.3, ranking it #17 out of 321 surgery journals globally. It is the most-cited journal in cardiothoracic surgery and fifth most-cited across all surgical journals.
- Unbroken Indexing Authority: The journal has maintained continuous MEDLINE and PubMed indexation since Volume 1, Number 6 in November 1965 (NLM Unique ID: 15030100R), meeting MEDLINE selection criteria for the Core Clinical Journals (Abridged Index Medicus) subset. It is also indexed in Web of Science, Scopus, and Embase, with over 48,000 DOIs registered in Crossref.
- Visual and Multimedia Innovations: The monthly “Annals Animated” series features animated video summaries of select high-impact research articles to enhance clinical comprehension.
- Clinical Practice Impact: Close alignment with the STS National Database ensures published analyses directly inform international surgical guidelines and operating room practices.
Publication Limits and Considerations
- High Selectivity: Receiving approximately 4,000 submissions annually against a fixed monthly page budget creates competitive acceptance standards, prioritizing large multicenter studies over single-center retrospective series.
- Hybrid Open Access Fees: Although traditional subscription publishing is free, authors requiring Gold open access must pay an article processing charge of approximately $3,200 to $3,540 USD, offset only by institutional transformative agreements or Research4Life fee waivers.
- Case Report Channeling: Standalone case reports are generally routed to Annals Short Reports, which levies an open-access APC of roughly $975 USD.
Peer cardiothoracic surgical journal alternatives
Cardiothoracic surgical teams evaluating submission targets or literature discovery channels can compare The Annals of Thoracic Surgery with leading peer publications:
| Journal Title | Sponsoring Society | Publisher | Publishing Model | Primary Clinical Focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Annals of Thoracic Surgery | Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) & STSA | Elsevier | Hybrid (Free subscription track / ~$3,200-$3,540 OA APC) | Adult cardiac, congenital heart, general thoracic surgery, and STS National Database analytics |
| The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery (JTCVS) | American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) | Elsevier | Hybrid (Free subscription track / OA option) | High-impact cardiovascular surgery, thoracic oncology, clinical trials, and basic science surgical research |
| European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EJCTS) | European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS) | Oxford University Press | Hybrid (Free subscription track / OA option) | European and global cardiovascular, thoracic, and vascular surgical investigations and clinical guidelines |
| Annals of Thoracic Surgery Short Reports | Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) | Elsevier | Gold Open Access (~$975 OA APC) | Clinical case reports, operative images, technical case studies, and brief cardiothoracic communications |
| Interdisciplinary CardioVascular and Thoracic Surgery (ICVTS) | European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS) | Oxford University Press | Gold Open Access (Author APC required) | Rapid communications, original operative procedures, and multidisciplinary thoracic disease management |
Frequently asked questions
What is the impact factor of Annals of Thoracic Surgery?
The Clarivate Analytics Journal Citation Reports impact factor for The Annals of Thoracic Surgery is 5.3. Clarivate ranks the journal #17 out of 321 indexed surgery journals. It is the most-cited journal in cardiothoracic surgery and fifth most-cited overall in surgery.
Is the Annals of Thoracic Surgery journal peer-reviewed?
Yes. Every original research article, surgical technique report, and outcomes analysis undergoes formal peer review by independent surgical experts and editorial board members. Detailed editorial protocols align with standard biomedical publishing guidelines, as outlined in our overview of ScienceDirect peer-review structure.
How much does it cost to publish in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery?
Publishing under the standard subscription track carries zero page charges or author submission fees. If authors choose or are mandated to publish Gold open access, Elsevier assesses an article processing charge of approximately $3,200 to $3,540 USD. Institutional transformative agreements frequently offset this cost.
Who publishes The Annals of Thoracic Surgery?
The journal is published monthly by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of its sponsoring societies, The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) and the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association (STSA).
What reference and citation style does the journal require?
Manuscripts must format citations according to the American Medical Association (AMA) Manual of Style. Authors must cite primary sources and verify reference citations prior to submission.
Where should clinical case reports be submitted?
Standalone case reports and brief operative vignettes are primarily routed to the open-access companion title, Annals Short Reports.
Sources
- The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS). “The Annals of Thoracic Surgery: Overview, Editorial Leadership, and Subscriptions.” Accessed November 8, 2026. https://www.sts.org/publications/annals-thoracic-surgery
- National Library of Medicine (NLM). “The Annals of thoracic surgery (NLM ID: 15030100R).” NCBI Catalog / MEDLINE Record. Accessed November 8, 2026. https://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/efetch.fcgi?db=nlmcatalog&id=20795&retmode=text
- Crossref. “Journal Metadata Record for The Annals of Thoracic Surgery (ISSN 0003-4975).” Accessed November 8, 2026. https://api.crossref.org/journals/0003-4975
- Elsevier. “The Annals of Thoracic Surgery: Customer Support and Journal Administration.” Accessed November 8, 2026. https://help.elsevier.com/app/answers/list/p/8050
