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Atlas of cutaneous laser surgery
Brrkh 0
1992
Journal
of P/uric
Surgq
(1992).
45.62@+,22
The British Association of Plastic surgeons
Book Reviews Modern Treatment of Severe Burns. Edited by Fang Zhiyang, Sheng Zhi-yong, Li Ngao and Ge Sheng-de. (SpringerVerlag, Berlin, 1992). Pp viii + 334, ill. Price DM 298. ISBN o-387-54028-8.
Atlas of Cutaneous Laser Surgery. Ed. David B. Apfelberg, (New York, Raven Press, 1992). pp
Many of us have wondered how the Chinese achieve their amazing results in treating severe burns. We have read reports and heard presentations where patients with massive bums have been covered with full thickness cadaver skin intermingled with tiny explants. Healing has been rapid with soft and pliant scars. Tantalising references have been made to the efficacy of ancient herbal remedies that increase resistance to infection, encourage epithelial growth and behave in a generally miraculous way. Pilgrims have visited and returned to confirm that there is indeed something special about the Chinese method of treating bums. Few have been able to incorporate specific techniques into their own philosophy. Chinese medicine is unlike medicine in the West: it exists in a milieu that is different from our own. How can we integrate what appears to be remarkable from the one, into what is deficient in the other? It was therefore with great interest that I approached this book. The contributors are from the People’s Liberation Army hospitals and research institutes in Beijing, Shanghai and Chongquin. Chapters are logically arranged and the topics covered are extensive. but the content is a jumble of clinical detail and animal research. We are offered a badly edited, fragmented and patchy collective review of burn care, larded with in-house research reports and supported by references to established. solid western work. There is no obvious evidence of a “Chinese method ” or ofan unified theory or approach. I am sure that there are many lessons to be learned from the Chinese, but those relating to the care of serious burns will not be found in this book. It is a great disappointment. J. CLARKE
This lavish colour production is ‘intended to show “how to” do a certain procedure’ and consists of assorted, largely anecdotal, case reports from 75 contributors. Many of these are leading experts in the field and the book provides a fascinating overview of the diverse uses to which lasers might be put. There are brief introductory chapters which a novice would have to supplement before getting the most out of the subsequent chapters and the laser aware may feel are superfluous. 38 % of the book is then devoted to the carbon dioxide laser, covering conditions from onychocryptosis to pilar cyst of the scalp, actinic cheilitis to perianal condylomata and including foetal rat surgery. The organisation of the chapter is untidy and, as throughout the book, there is no comment or criticism about the techniques presented, leaving the reader to decide whether laser vermilionectomy is best carried out at 3,6,7,10 or 20 watts, repeat pulse mode or continuous wave, with a spot size of I. 2, or 5 mm. Subsequent chapters cover the use of the argon laser and the neodymium-YAG laser in a similar fashion and one might be left considering whether there was any major difference in the clinical usefulness of the three machines. The chapter on the tunable dye laser shows its usefulness in treatingvascular lesions. Here, as elsewhere, the format of the book, in which each author is meant to explain their choice of treatment, becomes irritating as time and again one is regaled with the theory of selective photothermolysis and with identical paragraphs on consecutive pages. One would be forgiven for not having a clear idea of the possibly crucial differences between continuous wave and pulsed, dye lasers. The final chapter on new technologies discusses other lasers, including the ruby, a scanner and photodynamic therapy. The last case - labelled ‘seborrhoeic keratosis’ - looks suspiciously like a lentigo maligna. The aim of the book is laudable although even a good recipe book cannot be regarded as a substitute for thorough training. I am sure a considerable effort went into the production; generally the quality is good but many of the photographs are disappointing. Overall, I am afraid it falls wide of its mark and might only serve to confuse rather than clarify. N. WALKER
Pedicle Flaps of the Upper Limb. Edited by Alain Gilbert, Alain C. Masquelet and Vincent Hentz. (London, Martin Dunitz Ltd., 1992). ISBN I-8531 7-086-o. Pp xii + 236, ill. Price g49.95. This is another flap guide to join the many volumes that have appeared in the last decade to plug what was once a gaping void in the medical literature. Where does this English translation of a French book published two years ago sit in the canon of ‘flapology’? In short, it is an invaluable book. It is a very reasonably priced, concise, well illustrated and, most importantly, usable guide to upper limb flaps. Its subject matter straddles several disciplines somewhat awkwardly; the detailed description of various upper limb free flap donor sites would be more conveniently described with those from other areas of the body, since it is rare to turn to one area of the body alone for a reconstructive solution using distant flaps. However, as a source book of upper limb flaps of iI1 varieties, it is exhaustive and in my practice over the last few months has replaced Green’s three volume tome as my first port of call for assistance. Although it is a multi-author test, it has a cohesive feel and the quality of illustrations (so important in a handbook of this variety) is excellent. One or two scientific chapters sit rather uneasily with the remaining text, which is more of the cook book variety, but again are of such high quality that the somewhat varied content of the volume is justified. It is a well presented volume which would be well used by plastic surgery trainees and seniors as well as any surgeons involved in upper limb surgery. It is unhesitatingly recommended as good value for money in the current market and will be useful both to individuals and libraries. T. E. E. GOODACRE
483. Price $244. 1010 colour 764-7.
illustrations.
ISBN O-88167-
Atlas of Suction Assisted Lipectomy in Body Contouring. Ed. Frederick M. Grazer. (NY, Edinburgh, Churchill Livingstone. 08625-7. Pp xiv+410, ill. Price LI25.
1992). ISBN o-443-
Frederick Grazer is well known for his contributions to plastic surgery literature and for his teaching. This book is a record of his extensive experience in suction assisted lipectomy, sometimes known as liposuction, and contains some useful advice on operative techniques in dificult situations and also detailed technical descriptions of the equipment required and strong and convincing arguments for the use of his narrow gauge Mercedes cannulae with highly efficient vacuum pumps. Some of the results shown are dramatic, including suction assisted lipectomy in a woman of sixty-six without the significant skin laxity that one would expect in someone of this age, despite the IOSS of some 2000 cc. The Atlas also includes pictures of a previously reported result in which some 12 litres have been removed in a series of liposuction procedures. This Atlas is basically divided into three main sections; the first is 620
1992
Journal
of P/uric
Surgq
(1992).
45.62@+,22
The British Association of Plastic surgeons
Book Reviews Modern Treatment of Severe Burns. Edited by Fang Zhiyang, Sheng Zhi-yong, Li Ngao and Ge Sheng-de. (SpringerVerlag, Berlin, 1992). Pp viii + 334, ill. Price DM 298. ISBN o-387-54028-8.
Atlas of Cutaneous Laser Surgery. Ed. David B. Apfelberg, (New York, Raven Press, 1992). pp
Many of us have wondered how the Chinese achieve their amazing results in treating severe burns. We have read reports and heard presentations where patients with massive bums have been covered with full thickness cadaver skin intermingled with tiny explants. Healing has been rapid with soft and pliant scars. Tantalising references have been made to the efficacy of ancient herbal remedies that increase resistance to infection, encourage epithelial growth and behave in a generally miraculous way. Pilgrims have visited and returned to confirm that there is indeed something special about the Chinese method of treating bums. Few have been able to incorporate specific techniques into their own philosophy. Chinese medicine is unlike medicine in the West: it exists in a milieu that is different from our own. How can we integrate what appears to be remarkable from the one, into what is deficient in the other? It was therefore with great interest that I approached this book. The contributors are from the People’s Liberation Army hospitals and research institutes in Beijing, Shanghai and Chongquin. Chapters are logically arranged and the topics covered are extensive. but the content is a jumble of clinical detail and animal research. We are offered a badly edited, fragmented and patchy collective review of burn care, larded with in-house research reports and supported by references to established. solid western work. There is no obvious evidence of a “Chinese method ” or ofan unified theory or approach. I am sure that there are many lessons to be learned from the Chinese, but those relating to the care of serious burns will not be found in this book. It is a great disappointment. J. CLARKE
This lavish colour production is ‘intended to show “how to” do a certain procedure’ and consists of assorted, largely anecdotal, case reports from 75 contributors. Many of these are leading experts in the field and the book provides a fascinating overview of the diverse uses to which lasers might be put. There are brief introductory chapters which a novice would have to supplement before getting the most out of the subsequent chapters and the laser aware may feel are superfluous. 38 % of the book is then devoted to the carbon dioxide laser, covering conditions from onychocryptosis to pilar cyst of the scalp, actinic cheilitis to perianal condylomata and including foetal rat surgery. The organisation of the chapter is untidy and, as throughout the book, there is no comment or criticism about the techniques presented, leaving the reader to decide whether laser vermilionectomy is best carried out at 3,6,7,10 or 20 watts, repeat pulse mode or continuous wave, with a spot size of I. 2, or 5 mm. Subsequent chapters cover the use of the argon laser and the neodymium-YAG laser in a similar fashion and one might be left considering whether there was any major difference in the clinical usefulness of the three machines. The chapter on the tunable dye laser shows its usefulness in treatingvascular lesions. Here, as elsewhere, the format of the book, in which each author is meant to explain their choice of treatment, becomes irritating as time and again one is regaled with the theory of selective photothermolysis and with identical paragraphs on consecutive pages. One would be forgiven for not having a clear idea of the possibly crucial differences between continuous wave and pulsed, dye lasers. The final chapter on new technologies discusses other lasers, including the ruby, a scanner and photodynamic therapy. The last case - labelled ‘seborrhoeic keratosis’ - looks suspiciously like a lentigo maligna. The aim of the book is laudable although even a good recipe book cannot be regarded as a substitute for thorough training. I am sure a considerable effort went into the production; generally the quality is good but many of the photographs are disappointing. Overall, I am afraid it falls wide of its mark and might only serve to confuse rather than clarify. N. WALKER
Pedicle Flaps of the Upper Limb. Edited by Alain Gilbert, Alain C. Masquelet and Vincent Hentz. (London, Martin Dunitz Ltd., 1992). ISBN I-8531 7-086-o. Pp xii + 236, ill. Price g49.95. This is another flap guide to join the many volumes that have appeared in the last decade to plug what was once a gaping void in the medical literature. Where does this English translation of a French book published two years ago sit in the canon of ‘flapology’? In short, it is an invaluable book. It is a very reasonably priced, concise, well illustrated and, most importantly, usable guide to upper limb flaps. Its subject matter straddles several disciplines somewhat awkwardly; the detailed description of various upper limb free flap donor sites would be more conveniently described with those from other areas of the body, since it is rare to turn to one area of the body alone for a reconstructive solution using distant flaps. However, as a source book of upper limb flaps of iI1 varieties, it is exhaustive and in my practice over the last few months has replaced Green’s three volume tome as my first port of call for assistance. Although it is a multi-author test, it has a cohesive feel and the quality of illustrations (so important in a handbook of this variety) is excellent. One or two scientific chapters sit rather uneasily with the remaining text, which is more of the cook book variety, but again are of such high quality that the somewhat varied content of the volume is justified. It is a well presented volume which would be well used by plastic surgery trainees and seniors as well as any surgeons involved in upper limb surgery. It is unhesitatingly recommended as good value for money in the current market and will be useful both to individuals and libraries. T. E. E. GOODACRE
483. Price $244. 1010 colour 764-7.
illustrations.
ISBN O-88167-
Atlas of Suction Assisted Lipectomy in Body Contouring. Ed. Frederick M. Grazer. (NY, Edinburgh, Churchill Livingstone. 08625-7. Pp xiv+410, ill. Price LI25.
1992). ISBN o-443-
Frederick Grazer is well known for his contributions to plastic surgery literature and for his teaching. This book is a record of his extensive experience in suction assisted lipectomy, sometimes known as liposuction, and contains some useful advice on operative techniques in dificult situations and also detailed technical descriptions of the equipment required and strong and convincing arguments for the use of his narrow gauge Mercedes cannulae with highly efficient vacuum pumps. Some of the results shown are dramatic, including suction assisted lipectomy in a woman of sixty-six without the significant skin laxity that one would expect in someone of this age, despite the IOSS of some 2000 cc. The Atlas also includes pictures of a previously reported result in which some 12 litres have been removed in a series of liposuction procedures. This Atlas is basically divided into three main sections; the first is 620