A tale of three papers.

The author comments on the ethical publishing behavior violated by the authors of three papers published in the German language publication "Zentralblatt fur Chirurgie," in "Surgery" and then in the "British Journal Surgery." The author highlights the failure of the authors to present an honest representation of clinical findings and their failure to acknowledge republication of the paper. The author emphasizes the responsibility of authors to adhere to principles regarding publications in scientific journals.