Pocket Companion to Sabiston Textbook of Surgery, 16th edition

Abstract

This pocket companion to the sixteenth edition of Sabiston’s textbook of surgery is a very portable source of key information on the broad spectrum of topics contained in the mother text for which it is named, including the basic sciences as related to surgery and several chapters dedicated to surgical subspecialties. As stated in the preface of the book, it is intended “to provide students, residents, and working surgeons with readily available pertinent information,” a goal which it handily achieves. Over 170 tables, flow diagrams, and illustrations accompany the text to reinforce key concepts. Arranged in a bulleted, outline fashion, this book provides an easy to follow format. Its 71 chapters seamlessly correspond with the chapters in the main Sabiston text. The editors have done an excellent job sifting through the vast amount of material contained in the large book and have selected appropriate key concepts to include in the outline format without bogging the pages down in details non-essential to a general review of a given subject, keeping the book in line with the purpose for which it was intended. For complete coverage of a topic the reader is referred to the appropriate chapter in the textbook. The text of each chapter is double spaced and uncluttered, giving the reader an opportunity to add notes in between the lines or in the margin of the page. When used in conjunction with the main Sabiston text, or even with other major texts, this book provides an excellent supplemental means of studying for in-service or board exams and can provide an excellent review of a myriad of subjects. Recognizing the need to be concise in a text of this nature, one criticism of the book is that references for the material contained in the chapters are not listed, unlike some of the other “pocket companion” type books (i.e. Washington Manual of Surgery). However, if one desires to look up these references they are easily located in the mother text. The book was priced at $40.95 at the local medical bookstore, exactly the same price as similar books such as Surgical Secrets, and the Washington Manual of Surgery and slightly more than Advanced Surgical Recall. In summary, the Pocket Companion to Sabiston Textbook of Surgery provides any student of surgery with an easy to follow, portable, and competitively priced book allowing quick general review of virtually any subject in general surgery. It reaches its full potential when used in conjunction with the Sabiston Textbook of Surgery mother text, but provides an excellent supplemental means of study, regardless of which major text one prefers.