British Journal of Surgery 1995, 82,717

Book reviews

Practical Laparoscopic Surgery for General Surgeons I. M. C. Macintyre (ed). 252 X 192 mm. Pp. 207. Illustmted. 1994. Odord: Butterworth-Heinernann. f50.

This multi-authored book is aimed at established general surgeons and those in training. The authors chosen have, in most cases, a reputation in the field of minimal access surgery. The title is a misnomer as the book contains chapters on thoracic surgery, endostasis and endoanal surgery, all of which, strictly, have little in common with laparoscopic surgery. Inevitably in a field that is rapidly expanding the text is often out of date. For example, in colon resection there is no mention of port implantation, and in the equipment section there is no mention of capacitance-coupling problems and three-dimensional imaging. In the chapter on induction of pneumoperitoneum it was disappointing not to see more emphasis put on blunt laparoscopy as a routine procedure. The introductory chapter by Wickham is very controversial but does provide food for thought. The chapter by Espiner on laparoscopic cholecystectomy is excellent and well illustrated. The chapter on oesophageal resection should have included other techniques of thorascopic resection as well as the author’s preferred technique. Many of the photographs are of poor quality, but the line drawings make up for this deficit. Taken overall, this book has a place on the shelf of most general surgeons and provides a useful handbook for many minimally invasive techniques.

J. N. Baxter Glasgow Royal Infirmary Glasgow G4 OSF UK

Shared Care for Prostatic Disease R. Kirby, M. Kirby, J . Fitzpatrick, A. Fitzpatrick 21 0 X I45 rnrn. Pp. 180. Illustrated. 1994. Oxford: ISIS Medical Media Ltd. f l Z 50. This is a beautifully presented book and if somebody told me it was sponsored by a pharmaceutical company I would not be surprised. Shared care for prostatic disorders has been heavily promoted by pharmaceutical companies who realised that the drugs they were promoting for the treatment of bladder outflow obstruction (5-alpha reductase inhibitors and alpha blockers) had a minimal role in hospital urological practice. New outlets and new indications for their use had to be found and has resulted in heavy marketing to general practitioners.

In a country where there are so few urologists per head of population, the management of prostatic disorders can undoubtedly be shared with well informed primary care physicians. Unfortunately this book only goes half way to doing this. The sections on pathophysiology, case finding and investigation of patients with benign prostatic hypertrophy are excellent. However, the implication of case finding and screening for prostatic cancer is hardly dealt with and the results of radical prostatectomy are far too optimistic. The introduction and assessment of new techniques in the treatment of benign prostatic hypertrophy are superficial and the recommendation of a drug which, when taken for 6 months, will improve the urine flow rate by a mean of 2.7 ml/s in less than 60 per cent of those who take it is a hard pill to swallow. The data in this book are very cleverly presented and need to be read very carefully. It only goes half way to fulfilling a need. It is to be hoped that the next edition will be more objective.

G. Williams Royal Postgraduate Medical School Hammersmith Hospital London W12 ONN UK

British Medical Bulletin - Thrombosis T Hi Mmde (ed). 222 x 140 mm. @. 989. Illustrated. 1994. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone. f49.95.

British Medical Bulletin Number 4/1994 deals with problems related to thrombosis. The scientific Editor is TW Meade of London, who replaced the late Professor Arthur Bloom and to whose memory the volume is dedicated. There are 14 chapters and the majority of authors are from the UK, much information is given on thrombogenesis from a biochemical and structural background, with vascular biological aspects of arterial and venous diseases, and valuable clinical knowledge regarding diagnosis, prevention and therapeutic management. Most of the chapters are up to date, indicating a short production time, but it is likely that this has also resulted in less time for editing as many data are repeated. However, one need not be too negative about this as each chapter can be read on its own. Most of the contents are relevant. I was, however, somewhat surprised that the role of leucocytes received little attention as it is a topic of increasing current interest. Adjuvant pharmacotherapy to prevent recurrence after coronary artery bypass grafting and percutaneous intraluminal coronary angioplasty is analysed in detail, but very little is mentioned on similar problems after peripheral arterial intervention. This reflects the different amount of available information, and also the continuous political issue of giving priority to the treatment of corona7 arterial disease over peripheral vascular problems. To conclude, I liked this volume; it has a lot of important and useful information.

D. Bergqvist

University Hospital S-75185 Uppsala Sweden

Guide for House Surgeons and Interns in the Surgical Unit - 9th ed. G. L. Hill a n d 1 R. Famdon. 185X123rnm. Pp. 303. Illustrated. 1994. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinernann. .€I 7.50.

This is a well structured book which is written clearly and with authority. No attempt is made to give comprehensive information on any one subject and this is perhaps its strength. It provides essential information necessary for patient care and has clear guidelines for the management of most of the problems a house surgeon may encounter. The common elective and emergency surgical conditions are discussed, and useful hints are given for the preoperative and postoperative management of surgical patients. Each chapter is systematically and logically laid out, which makes easy reading; information is easy to find. Special mention should be made of the first chapter in which emphasis is placed on such core values as communication, caring and compassion, refreshing to read about in the turmoil of the purchaser-provider health service. This is an excellent book and one which the house surgeon will find to be an invaluable asset in hisher every day work. It will be referred to frequently.

G. Bell Inverclyde Royal Hospital Greenock PA14 OXL UK

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