Editorial: Safeguarding Patient Confidentiality in Medical Publishing
Protecting patient confidentiality is one of the fundamental ethical responsibilities of authors, reviewers, editors, and publishers. Respect for patient privacy is an essential principle of medical publishing and is reflected in the recommendations of international publication ethics organizations. Every effort must be made to ensure that no information capable of identifying a patient appears in a published article without explicit and appropriate authorization.
In a previous issue of our journal, we unfortunately failed to identify that a patient’s name was visible on an ultrasonography report included in a published figure. As a result, a breach of patient anonymity occurred. We sincerely regret this oversight and acknowledge our responsibility in ensuring that all published material is carefully reviewed to protect patient confidentiality.
Upon recognition of this error, the identifying information was removed, and an Erratum has been published to correct the scientific record. In addition, we have reviewed our editorial procedures and reinforced our pre-publication quality control measures to minimize the risk of similar incidents in the future. Particular attention will be given to the careful inspection of all clinical images, radiological studies, pathology reports, and supplementary materials for any inadvertently disclosed patient identifiers.
Although this error does not affect the scientific content or conclusions of the article, it highlights the importance of maintaining vigilance throughout every stage of the editorial and publication process. Patient privacy is a core ethical obligation that must never be compromised.
On behalf of the Editorial Board, I extend our sincere apologies to the patient, the authors, and our readers for this regrettable oversight. We remain firmly committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics, editorial responsibility, and respect for patient confidentiality.
We are publishing the August 2026 issue of our journal, featuring publications of undeniable scientific quality that will undoubtedly contribute to the medical literature. This issue includes highly important research, case reports, brief reports, and reviews focusing on gynecology, pelviperineology, functional female genital aesthetics, female sexual function, infertility, laparoscopy, and V-notes. I would like to thank the researchers from diverse geographical regions for these articles and our reviewers who evaluated them without expecting any compensation. We are extremely pleased to see that the Article Processing Charge (APC), which we implemented to ensure the independent existence of our journal and the publication of high-quality scientific content, is largely supported by the authors.
Your support for our journal is our most important motivation.
Stay healthy,
Prof. Dr. Ahmet Akın SIVASLIOĞLU
Editor-in-chief
