Pocket Companion to Sabiston Textbook of Surgery, 17th Edition. Courtney M. Townsend, R. Daniel Beauchamp, B. Mark Evers, Kenneth L. Mattox, editors. Elsevier Saunders, Philadelphia, 2005, 1176 pp

Abstract

Finally, a pocket companion to the Sabiston Textbook of Surgery has been published. This portable handbook covers 75 chapters ranging from surgical principles to anatomy-based systems to surgical subspecialties. It has been designed to complement the newest edition of the full-length textbook to facilitate easy and quick location of more in-depth information on a given topic. The editors have done an excellent job of condensing and organizing important bullets of information from the 17th edition. Tables containing essential information are in abundance, and occasional flow diagrams and illustrations accompany key chapters. Surprising and timely new chapter additions are also present: ‘‘Ultrasound for Surgeons,’’ ‘‘Emerging Technology in Surgery: Informatics, Electronics, and Robotics,’’ and ‘‘The Surgeon s Role in Unconventional Civilian Disasters.’’ Informative, well-designed chapters are the norm. Chapters that we consider especially superb include ‘‘Surgical Complications,’’ ‘‘Morbid Obesity,’’ ‘‘Management of Acute Trauma,’’ ‘‘The Pituitary and Adrenal Glands,’’ ‘‘Small Intestine,’’ and ‘‘Pediatric Surgery.’’ Most of the chapters are very good, but the chapter ‘‘Hernias’’ stands out as an inferior, inadequate section. Hernias are by far the most common entity encountered by the general surgeon, and this chapter is one of the shortest in the book (a mere four pages). We thought this to be the main weakness of the book. The pocket companion has been well designed to fit in a surgical coat pocket, and we found it aesthetically pleasing with bullet points and a generous font size. The book has been designed with the surgical resident in mind: The material of the pages is ideal for underlining important points, and space exists in the margins to jot down extra notes. We believe this book can serve as a useful adjunct to the inhouse surgical resident s armamentarium. To maintain the book s usefulness as a pocket book, illustrations are minimal, so it would behoove the resident to carry a surgical atlas in their other pocket. World J. Surg. 29, 1092 (2005) DOI: 10.1007/s00268-005-1129-z