Ask many Editors-in-Chief what they feel about case reports and their likely reaction will be a frown. After all, or so it is said, case reports are rarely cited and play havoc with an impact factor. Indeed, not so long ago a French study questioned whether case reports should be published at all [1].Yet in the pages that follow, and thanks to that globally respected organization, ESSKA (European Society of Sports Traumatology, Knee Surgery & Arthroscopy) through its HAC (Hip Arthroscopy Committee), the Journal of Hip Preservation Surgery (JHPS) is delighted to welcome this Supplement, which comprises eight splendid case reports.Why this delight? Because JHPS believes that if a journal is totally driven by the Impact Factor, then it is missing many valuable messages. Flyvbjerg summarized it excellently, in 2006, by saying that a discipline without exemplars is an ineffective one [2]. A case report is a perfect exemplar.Just look at some examples of changes that have occurred in clinical practice, thanks to a case report. The world’s first heart transplant [3], thalidomide and congenital abnormalities [4], the description of Behçet disease [5], Paget’s disease [6], myelomatosis [7] and so much more besides. It is clear that case reports have contributed a huge amount to the scientific literature and its associated clinical practice, which is why JHPS is more than pleased to welcome ESSKA’s Supplement and the case reports it contains. Please read them, learn from them and cite them, of course. Who knows where these reports will lead?Meanwhile the Guest Editors—Filippo Randelli, Nicolas Bonin and Athanasios (Thanos) Papavasiliou—are talented, respected and experienced. They have brought together a first-class collection of papers, each of which I highly commend to you.This Supplement, thanks to ESSKA, is precisely what JHPS seeks.My very best wishes to you all.
FUNDING
This paper was published as part of a supplement financially supported by the European Society for Sports Traumatology, Knee Surgery and Arthroscopy (ESSKA) www.esska.org.