This series of the Current Challenges in Thoracic Surgery is dedicated to the surgical management of empyema. The authors discussed the problems and perspectives of empyema treatment. Because an empyema is too complex to standardize treatment, we must individualize the treatment based on co-morbidities and patient background.

Disclosure:
The series “Empyema” was commissioned by the editorial office, Current Challenges in Thoracic Surgery without any sponsorship or funding. Satoshi Shiono is serving as the unpaid Guest Editors for the series.