Refining the Scope of Mini-invasive Surgery

Over the past decade, minimally invasive surgery has undergone rapid development, driven not only by advances in surgical techniques but also by the increasing integration of new technologies, devices, and materials. Since its inception, Mini-invasive Surgery (MIS) has aimed to provide an open-access platform for the dissemination of research across the broad field of minimally invasive surgery, encompassing various surgical specialties and evolving approaches.

As the field continues to mature, it has become clear that the key challenge is no longer the introduction of individual innovations, but their effective application in clinical practice and their impact on patient outcomes. In this context, we have undertaken a revision of the journal’s Aims and Scope to better reflect the current direction of the discipline.

The updated Scope places greater emphasis on studies that are firmly grounded in surgical practice, particularly those addressing complex clinical scenarios and demonstrating how new technologies, surgical devices, and biomaterials are applied, adapted, and evaluated in real operative settings. Compared with the previous version, which broadly covered minimally invasive techniques and specialties, the revised Scope highlights the clinical integration and validation of innovation, with a focus on improving intraoperative performance, supporting surgical decision-making, and enhancing patient outcomes.

In addition, the journal now more explicitly incorporates translational and mechanistic perspectives, including the physiological and biological impact of minimally invasive surgery, such as tumor microenvironment modulation, postoperative recovery and stress response, and the role of biomarkers and functional indicators in guiding surgical strategies. Greater attention is also given to high-quality clinical evidence, including prospective and comparative studies, real-world data, and outcomes research, to ensure that emerging techniques and technologies are assessed in a rigorous and clinically meaningful manner.

Interdisciplinary collaboration remains an important component of MIS; it is now more clearly oriented toward solving practical surgical problems and facilitating the translation of innovations into clinical use. Contributions that bridge surgery with engineering, materials science, and related fields are particularly encouraged when they demonstrate clear relevance to minimally invasive surgical practice.

Through this update, MIS seeks to further define its role as a journal that focuses on how innovation is translated into clinical benefit. We believe that this refined Scope will strengthen the journal’s identity, improve the relevance of published work, and support the continued advancement of minimally invasive surgery.