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Complications of fracture management
BOOK REVIEWS
Complications of Fracture Management. Edited by Harry Gossling and Stephen Pillsbury. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1984.565 pages. $67.50.
Current Therapy in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. 2nd Edition. By George A. Gates. St. Louis: C.V. Mosby, 1984.430 pages. $56.00.
It is noted in the preface that serious complications can occur in the management of patients with musculoskeleml trauma. This book deals with complications arising from fracture management in the multiply injured patient, as well as fractures occurring as isolated injuries. Addressing the problem of skeletal injuries in the multiply injured patients alone makes the book extremely valuable. The pathologic physiology of injuries, pitfalls in the early management of these injuries, possible reasons for some complications, and various techniques for managing these complications are discussed. The editors and most of the authors of the individual chapters are recognized authorities in fracture management and represent most of the major trauma and fracture institutes in the Western Hemisphere. The book is organized into general and specific sections. The general sections deal with the basic biology of fracture healing and nonunion, infections, shock and metabolism, and neurologic, vascular, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, and genitourinary complications, Other sections deal specifically with epiphyseal plate injuries, pathologic fractures, and injuries to anatomically distinct parts of the body. The organization of the book is logical and well thought out. A separate chapter deals with electrical stimulation of fracture healing, and others describe current concepts and techniques of obtaining soft tissue coverage. The need for a combined effort of many surgical disciplines in the management of some of the more serious injuries is stressed. Case reports are used to illustrate specific points, and each author has drawn extensively from his own experience. The book has a limited number of illustrations, but they are good. Most of the commonly indentified complications of fracture management are covered in the book. Some chapters emphasize one particular method of treatment over another, based on personal experience. This is inevitable in any complex field, but because skeletal trauma management is a rapidly changing field, where hard data are only now being accumulated, the different methods of managing the same difficult problems could have been discussed more fully. This is a valuable book for students, residents, and all physicians and surgeons who treat fracture. The field of skeletal trauma, particularly in the multiply injured natient, is receiving more and more attention and is rapidly changing. Because many of the concepts and techniques described will be outdated in the near future, subsequent editions of the book should be considered.
The preface states that the purpose of this book is to provide the reader with up-to-date information about how contemporary practitioners in the field of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery deal with certain clinical problems. This second edition follows the same basic format as the first, although many new topics are included. There are 107 short chapters, each dealing with a different topic. Each chapter has a different author, chosen because of published expertise in the respective field. Since there are all new authors in the second edition, but many of the same topics, the reader is provided with a point of view which often differs substantially from that in the first edition. As with the first edition, the book has no discussions of basic information such as anatomy, physiology, and etiology. Likewise, there is little emphasis on diagnostic considerations. The assumption is made that the reader is familiar with the pathology and differential diagnosis of basic clinical conditions in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery. In addition, no attempt has been made to cover every disease in the field. Rather, topics have been chosen that are controversial in their management or therapeutically challenging. The book is most appropriate for senior level residents and practitioners. Those with a more limited background in the field are at risk of misinterpreting the book as a treatment manual. It must be emphasized that it is not a how to do it manual, but rather a how I do it handbook authored by leading experts in the field. Although this approach lacks total objectivity, it is consistent with the goal of the book, which is to provide for the practitioner consultation with the experts on how they make treatment decisions. It is concise, readable, and nicely achieves its stated goal.
Ronald E. Rosenthal, MD
Toni M. Ganzel, MD
Pye’s Surgical Handicraft. 21st Edition. Edited by James Kyle. Bristol, England: John Wright & Sons, 1985. 754 pages. $24.00. This work is of historic, as well as practical, importance. It was written by Walter Pye 100 years ago, not long after the introduction of the principles of antiseptic surgery by Lister. It is now the oldest surgical textbook in the English language. It has been extensively revised and updated to keep pace with the rapidly changing advances in surgical care. This new edition has been published under the edi-
Continued on page 571.
562
The American Journal of Surgery
Complications of Fracture Management. Edited by Harry Gossling and Stephen Pillsbury. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1984.565 pages. $67.50.
Current Therapy in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. 2nd Edition. By George A. Gates. St. Louis: C.V. Mosby, 1984.430 pages. $56.00.
It is noted in the preface that serious complications can occur in the management of patients with musculoskeleml trauma. This book deals with complications arising from fracture management in the multiply injured patient, as well as fractures occurring as isolated injuries. Addressing the problem of skeletal injuries in the multiply injured patients alone makes the book extremely valuable. The pathologic physiology of injuries, pitfalls in the early management of these injuries, possible reasons for some complications, and various techniques for managing these complications are discussed. The editors and most of the authors of the individual chapters are recognized authorities in fracture management and represent most of the major trauma and fracture institutes in the Western Hemisphere. The book is organized into general and specific sections. The general sections deal with the basic biology of fracture healing and nonunion, infections, shock and metabolism, and neurologic, vascular, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, and genitourinary complications, Other sections deal specifically with epiphyseal plate injuries, pathologic fractures, and injuries to anatomically distinct parts of the body. The organization of the book is logical and well thought out. A separate chapter deals with electrical stimulation of fracture healing, and others describe current concepts and techniques of obtaining soft tissue coverage. The need for a combined effort of many surgical disciplines in the management of some of the more serious injuries is stressed. Case reports are used to illustrate specific points, and each author has drawn extensively from his own experience. The book has a limited number of illustrations, but they are good. Most of the commonly indentified complications of fracture management are covered in the book. Some chapters emphasize one particular method of treatment over another, based on personal experience. This is inevitable in any complex field, but because skeletal trauma management is a rapidly changing field, where hard data are only now being accumulated, the different methods of managing the same difficult problems could have been discussed more fully. This is a valuable book for students, residents, and all physicians and surgeons who treat fracture. The field of skeletal trauma, particularly in the multiply injured natient, is receiving more and more attention and is rapidly changing. Because many of the concepts and techniques described will be outdated in the near future, subsequent editions of the book should be considered.
The preface states that the purpose of this book is to provide the reader with up-to-date information about how contemporary practitioners in the field of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery deal with certain clinical problems. This second edition follows the same basic format as the first, although many new topics are included. There are 107 short chapters, each dealing with a different topic. Each chapter has a different author, chosen because of published expertise in the respective field. Since there are all new authors in the second edition, but many of the same topics, the reader is provided with a point of view which often differs substantially from that in the first edition. As with the first edition, the book has no discussions of basic information such as anatomy, physiology, and etiology. Likewise, there is little emphasis on diagnostic considerations. The assumption is made that the reader is familiar with the pathology and differential diagnosis of basic clinical conditions in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery. In addition, no attempt has been made to cover every disease in the field. Rather, topics have been chosen that are controversial in their management or therapeutically challenging. The book is most appropriate for senior level residents and practitioners. Those with a more limited background in the field are at risk of misinterpreting the book as a treatment manual. It must be emphasized that it is not a how to do it manual, but rather a how I do it handbook authored by leading experts in the field. Although this approach lacks total objectivity, it is consistent with the goal of the book, which is to provide for the practitioner consultation with the experts on how they make treatment decisions. It is concise, readable, and nicely achieves its stated goal.
Ronald E. Rosenthal, MD
Toni M. Ganzel, MD
Pye’s Surgical Handicraft. 21st Edition. Edited by James Kyle. Bristol, England: John Wright & Sons, 1985. 754 pages. $24.00. This work is of historic, as well as practical, importance. It was written by Walter Pye 100 years ago, not long after the introduction of the principles of antiseptic surgery by Lister. It is now the oldest surgical textbook in the English language. It has been extensively revised and updated to keep pace with the rapidly changing advances in surgical care. This new edition has been published under the edi-
Continued on page 571.
562
The American Journal of Surgery