Book Review: Clinics in Plastic Surgery: Necklift

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Malcolm D. Paul, ed. Clinics in Plastic Surgery: Necklift. New York: Elsevier, 2013. ISBN-10: 0323227376 It is often hard to be critical of a book written in good faith and with every good intention by surgeons invited from different parts of the world, by a single editor himself with a strong reputation as an international speaker. I have to say, though, that this book, Clinics in Plastic Surgery: Necklift , edited by Malcolm D. Paul, is not one to get too excited about. It is not actually exclusively about lifting the neck: it is about methods to nonsurgically tighten the superficial skin and to surgically rejuvenate the aging neck but mostly at a level above the hyoid only. At first glance, the book is disappointingly small in size but not small enough to put in a pocket. It is rather unattractively color mismatched and could be easily lost behind a cupboard or under a short table leg. It is a thin book, deficient in pages, sometimes with blank sheets, yet it is supposed to contain substance and exciting tips and tricks from all of its 16 invited authors (presumably with major contributions from some junior doctor coauthors). It is not set out in chapters per se, and this adds to the somewhat difficult-to-follow and confused lack of flow to the book. It is really a collection of anecdotes and personal preferences. Some authors clearly understand what we, as readers, want to know. Others, unfortunately, say very little of interest and stick to some pre-thought-out questions presented by the editor. I will expand upon these later. On balance, I think this book may be useful to some young plastic surgeons engaging in the concept of facial aesthetic surgery and perhaps as guidance to those wanting ideas to improve their current outcomes. There are apparently some good operative videos that accompany certain chapters. I would be surprised …