Recent Advances in Surgery 29

Abstract

Recent Advances in Surgery is a well-established series from the Royal Society of Medicine Press, masterfully edited by Colin Johnson and Irving Taylor. It is updated annually and attempts to review trends in current practice and advances within the surgical specialties. In recent years, it has adopted a standard format with sections of one to five chapters devoted to the generality of surgery. In this edition, there are sections for surgery in general, liver and pancreatic surgery, vascular surgery, breast disease and a final chapter that summarises the leading randomised clinical trials from the preceding year. Every chapter contains boxes highlighting key points for clinical practice, which are summarised neatly before the reference section. This year's offering has an especially diverse range of topics drawn from 34 separate authors comprising renowned experts in their field, practising consultant surgeons, registrars and SHOs. The book contains largely black-and-white illustrations although the chapter on gynaecomastia has a number of colour plates within it. There are a considerable number of pertinent radiographic images as well as a few line drawings. Within the section on general surgery there is a review of paediatric surgery in the district general hospital. This serves as both a concise summary of the commonly encountered conditions as well as a guide to the management of children outside a specialist centre. There follows an excellent update on pre-operative cardiac assessment and optimisation, an in-depth review of angiogenesis and its relevance to neoplasia and a concise summary of sickle cell disease as it relates to surgical practice. Superb updates are provided in the chapters on fast-track surgery, radiofrequency and thermal ablation of tumours and live-donor liver transplantation. I particularly enjoyed the sections on pancreatic, liver and splenic trauma clearly written by surgeons with a life-time's experience in the field. I also found the review of severe acute pancreatitis superbly structured, reasoned and crisply written. New technologies in vascular surgery are explored including the minimally invasive management of pseudo-aneurysms and endovenous laser therapy. As always, the randomised clinical trials section brings one up to date with studies that may influence general surgical practice and makes an excellent starting point for further reading. The Recent Advances series has always been championed as excellent revision material for surgical examinations and this particular volume covers a very diverse field indeed within which every potential candidate should find sections of relevance. For those wishing to broaden their understanding and to be brought up to date with key advances in surgery in general, this book is for them.