[Der Chirurg and Langenbecks Archiv für Chirurgie--2 different directions by surgical publications].

DER CHIRURG is the most successful German surgical journal and, reaches with a circulation of more than 8400 copies approx. 60% (including secondary readers approx. 80%) of active surgeons in Germany. DER CHIRURG covers scientific information by highly qualified reviews (30%-35% of the content) as well as peer-reviewed original papers (60%). The rejection rate of original papers is currently 55%. Topics of the reviews are as follows: oncology (20%), benign gastrointestinal surgery (20%), traumatology (15%) and general topics (20%). The thematic spectrum of the original papers is similar. The current problems for this journal are quality control, the issue of double publication, the assurance of an adequate impact factor, and the recruitment of local and international experts for highly qualified reviews.