An Aid to Clinical Surgery Peter R. Scort, MBBS, RFCS, RFCS (Edin.) FRACS, FACS, Melbourne. 240 ×...
1
Reviews and notices of books these chapters have been written in the past few months and the speed of publication deserves praise. The first chapter, written by a lawyer, deals with the legal aspects of surgery and discusses this thorny problem in detail. Many references to the German legal system are given. There follows a chapter on local anaesthesia which contains much basic pharmacology as well as useful guide lines. A further chapter deals with acute blood loss while the other two chapters cover the fundamental principles of organ transplantation and of surgical pathology. The book is beautifully printed but contains few illustrations, and it is difficult to judge this major new work until at least some of its volumes have appeared completely. The editors must, however, be congratulated on accepting the concept of such a loose-leaf reference work so that all the material that is in it is really up to date. H. B. ECKSTEIN Outpatient Surgery Edited George J. Hill II, MD, St Louis. 254 X 179 mm. Pp. I079 +xoiii, with 509 illustrafions. 1973. London: W. B. Sounders Company. f11.90. OUTPATIENT and day surgery has gained great impetus since its start from the enthusiasm of American surgeons. To a greater or lesser degree it is accepted and practised almost everywhere. It is here to stay and will no doubt develop, and anyone who makes a direct contribution to this must be encouraged. This book opens with descriptions of the organization of the outpatient and operating room facilities and is followed by a chapter on anaesthesia. Too often a minor outpatient procedure can become a major postoperative catastrophe when preoperative outpatient assessment is inadequate, and while the point is made, it cannot be overstressed in a book addressed to students, house officers and young surgeons. Each of the following 27 chapters covering the whole range of surgery is written by an expert in his field, including ENT, ophthalmology and plastic surgery. It can be truly said that no one is left out and that there is something for everyone in this book. Each chapter is authoritative and concise, but the British reader may well be misled by the term ‘outpatient surgery’ and expect an exclusively practical book on the procedures that can be carried out on outpatients as day cases as we understand the term here. In fact this book reads as a textbook of surgical management. In some chapters descriptions of methods are short but adequate. In others they are deficient and replaced by a short and dogmatic discussion of the authors’ views on management much of which is less than can be obtained from the standard texts. At the end of each chapter there is a list of references. The majority of these are American. It is suggested that a book addressed to any well-informed audience should avoid this defect and should present an adequate and up-to-date cross- section of the best papers written on the subject. The argument against the inclusion of specialized subjects like ENT, ophthalmology and plastic surgery compressed into a single chapter is that it is insufficient for the man who is training in that speciality and sometimes just too much for the others. It is debatable whether much of real value can be offered in so short a space. The descriptions are clear and interesting. The editor and his team of authors are to be congratulated on an imaginative approach. This book will in parts make interesting reading to the practising general surgeon. It is not the one book for an isolated surgeon nor is it the one book on outpatient surgery for British practice at least, as all the matter has been covered equally well and often better in the standard surgical texts already available in England. JOHN HADFIELD Cardiovascular Surgery 1972. American Heart Association Monograph, Number 41 Edited John Hines Kennedy. 279 x 210 mm. Pp. 227. 1973. Ne“ York: The American Heart Association Inc. $5.00. THIS review monograph from the American Heart Association is a collection of the cardiac surgical papers presented to the American Heart Association in Dallas, 1972, and consequently represents an excellent survey of surgical activities in that field across the United States. Just over a year has elapsed since they were delivered, but this does not represent an undue delay in publication nor have there been any remarkable changes in attitudes on surgical techniques since they were given. The papers are all of high quality and come from the main open-heart centres in America. The subject matter is divided broadly into three groupings: on congenital heart problems of the Fallot type, valve replacement and a large section is devoted to the rapidly expanding application of surgery to coronary artery disease. Current activity in the prosthetic valve replacement field is directed towards doing away with the need for anticoagulants and with straightforward coronary surgery; established attempts are now being made to treat the effects of the acute infarct. Of interest is the number of papers on infection, which emphasize the new hazard for self-administered intravenous injections in drug addicts. DONALD ROSS An Aid to Clinical Surgery Peter R. Scort, MBBS, RFCS, RFCS (Edin.) FRACS, FACS, Melbourne. 240x 188 mm. Pp. 324f x, with 60 illustrations. 1973. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone. f2.50. THIS short volume, now published in limp covers, is written by a surgeon at the Royal Melbourne Hospital aided by a number of his surgical colleagues there. It is designed to give a concise aid to the study of clinical surgery and is not intended to serve as an exhaustive textbook. The subject matter is restricted to common clinical conditions in general surgery, together with trauma; consideration of the other surgical specialities of orthopaedics, urology, ENT and chest surgery has been limited to certain aspects of general interest. Much of the subject matter is considered in relation to commonly encountered symptoms, for example, abdominal pain or nipple discharge. The text is set out mainly in note form and is illustrated by a number of simple line diagrams. There is a brief list of references after each chapter. This volume will provide a convenient set of revision notes in general surgery for final year medical students. HAROLD ELLIS Einfuhrung in die Unfallheikunde Eberhard Strauch, Hans-Jouchim Schneider. and Richard Schroder. Second edition. 221 x 154 mm. Pp. 284 with 90 illustra- tions. 1973. Berlin: Veb. Verlag. Volk und Gesundheit. 10.90M. THIS is the second edition of a book on accident surgery written for medical students and paramedical workers. The first section deals with general principles of trauma, wound healing and physiology in relation to this, while the second section deals anatomically with different parts of the body. The first aid management of various injuries is particularly well described, and the book is illustrated throughout by clear line drawings. The work basically shows that the management of trauma in the German Peoples’ Republic is very much the same as in the United Kingdom. H. B. ECKSTEIN 672
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Transcript of An Aid to Clinical Surgery Peter R. Scort, MBBS, RFCS, RFCS (Edin.) FRACS, FACS, Melbourne. 240 ×...
Reviews and notices of books
these chapters have been written in the past few months and the speed of publication deserves praise.
The first chapter, written by a lawyer, deals with the legal aspects of surgery and discusses this thorny problem in detail. Many references to the German legal system are given. There follows a chapter on local anaesthesia which contains much basic pharmacology as well as useful guide lines. A further chapter deals with acute blood loss while the other two chapters cover the fundamental principles of organ transplantation and of surgical pathology.
The book is beautifully printed but contains few illustrations, and it is difficult to judge this major new work until at least some of its volumes have appeared completely. The editors must, however, be congratulated on accepting the concept of such a loose-leaf reference work so that all the material that is in it is really up to date.
H. B. ECKSTEIN
Outpatient Surgery Edited George J. Hill I I , M D , St Louis. 254 X 179 mm. Pp. I079 +xoiii, with 509 illustrafions. 1973. London: W. B. Sounders Company. f11.90. OUTPATIENT and day surgery has gained great impetus since its start from the enthusiasm of American surgeons. To a greater or lesser degree it is accepted and practised almost everywhere. It is here to stay and will no doubt develop, and anyone who makes a direct contribution to this must be encouraged.
This book opens with descriptions of the organization of the outpatient and operating room facilities and is followed by a chapter on anaesthesia. Too often a minor outpatient procedure can become a major postoperative catastrophe when preoperative outpatient assessment is inadequate, and while the point is made, it cannot be overstressed in a book addressed to students, house officers and young surgeons.
Each of the following 27 chapters covering the whole range of surgery is written by an expert in his field, including ENT, ophthalmology and plastic surgery. It can be truly said that no one is left out and that there is something for everyone in this book. Each chapter is authoritative and concise, but the British reader may well be misled by the term ‘outpatient surgery’ and expect an exclusively practical book on the procedures that can be carried out on outpatients as day cases as we understand the term here. In fact this book reads as a textbook of surgical management. In some chapters descriptions of methods are short but adequate. In others they are deficient and replaced by a short and dogmatic discussion of the authors’ views on management much of which is less than can be obtained from the standard texts.
At the end of each chapter there is a list of references. The majority of these are American. It is suggested that a book addressed to any well-informed audience should avoid this defect and should present an adequate and up-to-date cross- section of the best papers written on the subject.
The argument against the inclusion of specialized subjects like ENT, ophthalmology and plastic surgery compressed into a single chapter is that it is insufficient for the man who is training in that speciality and sometimes just too much for the others. It is debatable whether much of real value can be offered in so short a space. The descriptions are clear and interesting.
The editor and his team of authors are to be congratulated on an imaginative approach. This book will in parts make interesting reading to the practising general surgeon. I t is not the one book for an isolated surgeon nor is it the one book on outpatient surgery for British practice at least, as all the matter has been covered equally well and often better in the standard surgical texts already available in England.
JOHN HADFIELD
Cardiovascular Surgery 1972. American Heart Association Monograph, Number 41 Edited John Hines Kennedy. 279 x 210 mm. Pp. 227. 1973. Ne“ York: The American Heart Association Inc. $5.00. THIS review monograph from the American Heart Association is a collection of the cardiac surgical papers presented to the American Heart Association in Dallas, 1972, and consequently represents an excellent survey of surgical activities in that field across the United States. Just over a year has elapsed since they were delivered, but this does not represent an undue delay in publication nor have there been any remarkable changes in attitudes on surgical techniques since they were given.
The papers are all of high quality and come from the main open-heart centres in America. The subject matter is divided broadly into three groupings: on congenital heart problems of the Fallot type, valve replacement and a large section is devoted to the rapidly expanding application of surgery to coronary artery disease.
Current activity in the prosthetic valve replacement field is directed towards doing away with the need for anticoagulants and with straightforward coronary surgery; established attempts are now being made to treat the effects of the acute infarct. Of interest is the number of papers on infection, which emphasize the new hazard for self-administered intravenous injections in drug addicts.
DONALD ROSS
An Aid to Clinical Surgery Peter R . Scort, MBBS, RFCS, RFCS (Edin.) FRACS, FACS, Melbourne. 240x 188 mm. Pp. 324f x , with 60 illustrations. 1973. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone. f2.50. THIS short volume, now published in limp covers, is written by a surgeon at the Royal Melbourne Hospital aided by a number of his surgical colleagues there. I t is designed to give a concise aid to the study of clinical surgery and i s not intended to serve as an exhaustive textbook. The subject matter is restricted to common clinical conditions in general surgery, together with trauma; consideration of the other surgical specialities of orthopaedics, urology, ENT and chest surgery has been limited to certain aspects of general interest.
Much of the subject matter is considered in relation to commonly encountered symptoms, for example, abdominal pain or nipple discharge. The text is set out mainly i n note form and is illustrated by a number of simple line diagrams. There is a brief list of references after each chapter. This volume will provide a convenient set of revision notes in general surgery for final year medical students.
HAROLD ELLIS
Einfuhrung in die Unfallheikunde Eberhard Strauch, Hans-Jouchim Schneider. and Richard Schroder. Second edition. 221 x 154 mm. Pp. 284 with 90 illustra- tions. 1973. Berlin: Veb. Verlag. Volk und Gesundheit. 10.90M. THIS is the second edition of a book on accident surgery written for medical students and paramedical workers. The first section deals with general principles of trauma, wound healing and physiology in relation to this, while the second section deals anatomically with different parts of the body. The first aid management of various injuries is particularly well described, and the book is illustrated throughout by clear line drawings. The work basically shows that the management of trauma in the German Peoples’ Republic is very much the same as in the United Kingdom.
H. B. ECKSTEIN
672
