Surgical Rehabilitation in Leprosy

Abstract

Concisely written, this book has abundant information for anyone interested in leprosy and particularly for the surgeon expected to treat those deformed by this disease. Leprosy is to surgery as syphilis was once to medicine: he who knows the many manifestations of each malady will better understand his whole field. With authority and from experience, more than 40 authors have contributed 50 chapters emphasizing reconstructive problems of the face, skin, and upper and lower extremities. Primary deformities of leprosy include enlargement, ptosis, or even loss of the ear lobule; loss of eyebrows; redundant and wrinkled facial skin; nasal distortion or collapse; lagophthalmos; and lower facial nerve paralysis. Though frequently characteristic and exaggerated in leprosy, these deformities may occur in any patient and the principles and techniques of their management can be applied widely. With respect to the hand, the chapters by Drs. Brand, Clezy, Johnson, Riordan, and Tubiana are especially