Recent Advances in Surgery 28

Abstract

Each year, Irving Taylor and Colin Johnson's immensely successful Recent Advances in Surgery series produces a volume that attempts to cover areas of interest and trends in current surgical practice as well as revise in depth advancing areas in the surgical specialties. The latest edition is no exception to this traditional formula. The editors have combined contributions from 33 authors including established surgical consultants, academics, surgeons in training and a podiatrist to produce an essential source of reading for trainees preparing for the intercollegiate examinations as well as consultant surgeons in clinical practice wishing to keep abreast of topics not immediately related to their daily workload. Volume 28 is divided into six sections covering surgery in general, surgical practice, gastrointestinal surgery, vascular and transplantation surgery and a review section. Within this structure, there are 15 well-written chapters and a series of colour plates that are grouped together at the beginning of the book. The section on surgery in general comprises three chapters of diverse content covering training technology, bacterial translocation and sepsis, and pre-operative patient optimisation, all areas of immense practical importance to the modern practising surgeon. With the current emphasis on evidence-based practice, the importance of technology cannot be overlooked and this chapter does well to highlight the role of technology in modern-day surgical education, emphasising the value of technological skills for the surgeon and in the care of surgical patients. Bacterial translocation in surgical patients and the hypothesis of the ‘gut origin of sepsis’ is timely and well linked to the last chapter in this section which covers the difficult issue of pre-operative optimisation. The chapter emphasises the maintenance of all aspects of gut function in critically ill patients and particularly in high-risk (ASA III and IV) surgical patients. It provides a planned and concise approach, which is easy to follow and practical. Four diverse subjects are covered within the surgical practice section that are increasingly of interest to general surgeons and examiners alike. Chapters on the diagnosis and treatment of abdominal tuberculosis, the current trends in management of malignant melanoma, the controversies in the management of inguinal hernia (including different surgical treatment modalities, outcomes, serious complications, recovery time and cost) as well as the classification and management of intestinal fistulae are all hot topics for discussion. Section 3 covers gastrointestinal surgery and contains very useful, up-to-date overviews of the standards in treatment of pancreatic disease and adjuvant therapy in colorectal cancer. The more trendy topics of laparoscopic banding for obesity and diagnostic laparoscopy for gastrointestinal malignancy are also well reviewed and provide a good working framework from which to develop study and further reading. It is also good to see the inclusion of a section on vascular/transplantation surgery. The chapters in this section provide a useful update in areas of surgery which are not always included in general surgical books of this type. They provide the reader with a broader insight into the practice in these two complex, high-risk fields. Thankfully, the final section, which reviews a number of randomised controlled trials of relevance to today's practising surgeon and trainee, has been maintained in this edition. With today's need for on-going, evidence-based practice, this edition provides useful information on a wide range of topics. These include inguinal hernia repair, colorectal surgery, breast surgery, pancreatic and hepatobiliary surgery, upper gastrointestinal surgery and melanoma. These topics follow on well from the areas reviewed in the previous edition. The compact, A5 format of this volume follows the established successful formula of its predecessors. Revision of each chapter is easy as important key points are highlighted in coloured revision boxes while the conclusion wraps up the topic, providing food for thought. The whole topic is revised at the end of each chapter as a series of bulleted key points. The text is well supported by a comprehensive bibliography and the reader is pointed in the direction of further reading and study. Our only slight criticism is the inclusion of all the colour plates in a dedicated section at the beginning of the book. Although this is undoubtedly done for economic reasons, it does interrupt the flow of reading and can be an irritation for the reader. Since its introduction, this series has endeavoured to provide the reader with up-to-date information. It is, therefore, a must and an indispensable volume for all surgeons, especially senior trainees preparing for surgical membership and intercollegiate examinations. It also provides thought-provoking chapters for the busy surgeon, who, like the trainee, will benefit from reading it. The style allows the reader to dip in and out of the content without the risk of indigestion from the consumption of too large or complicated chunks of information. Good bedtime reading!