Research Material
Power Research Material | Asian Annals showcases the inception of the Cardiac Newsletter for Asia and served as a prelude for Asian Annals.
Asian Annals
As the founder of APEX and a budding entrepreneur, I saw the need for a truly Asian voice in cardiovascular & thoracic surgery and medicine. I launched a publishing company in 1984 from my home in Hawaii after four years of calling on heart surgeons in the Asia Pacific Region representing Shiley, at the time a leading cardiac device company. APEX, incorporated in 1986, was headquartered in Singapore in the heart of Orchard Road. That first publication, ‘A Cardiac Newsletter for Asia’ (Figure 1), in January 1985, served as a prelude for the Asian Annals. APEX was published until 1992 and when in 1993, the Asian Annals included a Regional News Section, it was no longer needed.
How it all started
The idea generated interest in 1991 to launch an Asian scientific journal. Several years of intense fieldwork followed, usually in late evenings and over the weekends at my apartment on Leonie Hill in Singapore, for myself and, at times, the co-author, Dr. Carlos-A. Mestres. We designed and developed the type of journal fitting the needs of the cardiac surgical community across Asia. A solid business model and a plan for financing the cost of the journal were also established at that time.
Interview with Dr. Denton A. Cooley
It was a distinct honor to conduct and print this personal interview with the world renowned Dr. Cooley of the Texas Heart Institute. Having first met him in 1984 at The Cooley Society Meeting in Maui, Hawaii, I was proud to have gotten to know him well over the ensuing years. As Publisher of the Asian Annals, the interview was conducted during the 6th World Congress of the International Society of Cardio-thoracic Surgeons in Hiroshima, Japan, July, 1996.
Interview with Dr. Joseph Sheares
Interview conducted with Dr. Joseph H H Sheares, son of former Singapore President, Dr. Benjamin Sheares, in the 1992 issue of APEX, A Cardiac Newsletter for Asia.
A Tribute to Dr. Thomas B. Ferguson
The passing of Dr. Ferguson in 2013 compelled me to pay tribute to the man who was instrumental in helping the Asian Annals achieve its goal of academic indexing. This led to increased respect and credibility in the cardiovascular community throughout Asia and international acceptance. As an editor, accomplished surgeon, and devoted family man, Tom was considered by those who knew him as both a “good and great” man, traits not normally found in the same individual according to a famous Winston Churchill quote. But, Mr. Churchill never met Tom.
Interview with Dr. Nemish A. Shah
As publisher of the Asian Annals I place great value on this personal interview with Dr. Shah in 1993, Vol. 1, No. 4 issue. In 1963, the highly respected Dr. Shah started a private program of open-heart surgery at Bombay Hospital. He was a strong proponent of the use of bioprosthetic heart valves during his illustrious 30-year career in India. I considered him a friend and mentor in learning about the advantages in use of tissue valves versus mechanical alternatives.
Dr. Shah is pictured with me and Brij Gupta of Shiley at an Indian Cardiovascular Society Meeting in the early 1980s.
Interview with Dr. Carlos Gómez-Duran
In representing the Asian Annals, I was pleased to conduct this interview with Dr. Duran during the 1997 AATS meeting in Washington, D.C. Published in 1998, in Vol. 6, No. 1 of the journal, it covered Dr. Duran’s pioneering work in valve replacement and repair surgeries. The personable, skilled surgeon studied and practiced in Spain, France, the U.K., Saudi Arabia, and the USA. His yearly Rocky Mountain Valve Symposium held in Missoula, Montana was viewed as a must-attend event for young and older heart surgeons from the USA, Asia and around the world.
Editorial: ACTA VOL. 6, NO. 3
Evolving Healthcare for Congenital Heart Disease in China
Dr. Richard A. Jonas, former Chief at Children's Hospital, Boston, and Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School at the time wrote this informative editorial in 1998. The tireless efforts of Dr. Jonas and his Boston team in training personnel from Xin Hua Hospital and the Shanghai Second Medical Univ for 13 years was instrumental in increasing the level of competence of their Chinese counterparts. In fact, it took the experience and dedication of someone of Dr. Jonas' stature and ability to ensure hospital personnel were properly trained, thereby bringing an essential element of the project to fruition. Dr. Jonas is pictured with Drs. Wu Qing-Yu of China and Akira Furuse of Japan.
Editorial: ACTA VOL. 6, NO. 2
Memories, Milestones, and the Millennium Ahead
The first attempt to chronicle the evolution & expansion of cardiac surgery in Asia was in 1985 by the APEX (Asia Pacific EXchange) newsletter. It served well as a communication vehicle for clinicians and industry with a vested interest in the region and was followed by the Asian Cardiovascular & Thoracic Annals (ACTA) journal in 1993. Pictured is Prof. CHO Bum-Koo, Editor-in-Chief at the time who asked me as Publisher to contribute the following editorial on ACTA’s past, present and future.
