Oculoplastic Surgery. The Essentials

Abstract

William P. Chen (ed.) Oculoplastic Surgery. The Essentials499 pagesThieme, New York, Stuttgart, 2001ISBN 3-13-127451-4Price: EUR 198,89 Several books on ophthalmic plastic and reconstructive surgery have been published in the last 10 years. They differ in objective, outline and size; many comprise chapters written by different authors. Is there actually a need for another medium-sized book on this same subject? In the preface, the editor tells us that he thought there should be a better way to present the modern concepts in the field in a succinct fashion. With a mixed target group in mind, he presents the whole spectrum of the field in 30 chapters, written by altogether 38 authors. These are with two exceptions North American. There are introductory chapters on anatomy and fundamental techniques and a section on lid surgery. Cosmetic surgery is amply covered. Further sections describe tumour surgery and treatment of thyroid-related disorders, lacrimal disorders, socket and orbital surgery. There is a reasonable amount of photographs, most in black-and-white and some in colour. Interspersed are ‘pearls’ (that I personally could do without) and ‘pitfalls’, and for those who like flow-charts, there are many such summarizing the text recommendations. As often in books written by many authors, there are differences between the chapters and some are better than others at fulfilling the objective set out by the editor. Some are complete and in others I miss information. In many clarity is lost by wordy detailing, and there are unnecessary repetitions. The photos aremostly, but not always clear and sufficient. The list of references vary, some being brief while others are extensive. Some chapters I liked very much; among them are those on blepharospasm, enucleation, orbital surgery and orbital trauma. The chapters on squint surgery and orbital diseases are not bad at all, but the reader would probably not look for the information in this book. For those performing cosmetic surgery, this section is very complete. This book is partly succinct and partly not. There are better cook-books for the theatre and others with more information. It has however, an adequate scope for the reader not superspecialized in oculoplastic surgery and provides ample and adequate knowledge. I do recommend it for anyone who wants to be up-dated in the field.