Congenital malformations

Congenital malformations

BOOK REVIEWS CLEFT PALATE DEFORMATION. By J. J. Longacre, M.D., Ph.D. 109 pages, ‘77 figures. Springfield, Ill., Charles C Thomas, 1970. In 1948, at ...

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BOOK REVIEWS

CLEFT PALATE DEFORMATION. By J. J. Longacre, M.D., Ph.D. 109 pages, ‘77 figures. Springfield, Ill., Charles C Thomas, 1970. In 1948, at the Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati, a study was initiated in the Cleft Palate Clinic to determine the relationship between the time of repair of the palatal defect and facial growth. Patients were selected alternately to be operated upon either early ( 18 to 24 months) or late ( 3 to 4% years). During the 21-year period, Dr. Longacre, the only surgeon, used the same surgical procedure on more than 500 patients. The author now concludes that patients with complete clefts of the lip and palate exhibit a more normal dental arch with minimal deformation when the palate was operated upon at a later stage than when operated upon in infancy. The text is profusely illustrated with photographs and many fine postoperative results. Embryology, causative factors, growth, and development of the maxilla, bone grafting of palatal defects are the titles of some of the brief chapters. Dr. Longacre is to be commended for reporting this longitudinal study of cleft palate patients. Although there is a need for additional detailed objective, accurate, interdisciplinary reports, the importance of prevention should be continually stressed.-B. G. Sarnat. CONGENITAL MALFORMATIONS. Edited by F. Clarke Fraser and V. A. McKusick. New York, Excerpta Medica, 1970. $27.50/ & 11.10.0, 466 pages, illustrated.

This book records the proceedings of the Third International Conference on Congenital Malformations, held in The Hague in September 1969. It is an outstanding contribution to the literature in this field. The fact that it is both cohesive and comprehensive (rare virtues in published proceedings) reflects a careful selection of speakers and subject matter by the conference organizers. The main part of the book consists of the full texts of 35 contributions by leading authorities in many disciplines. The subject matter ranges from molecular and cellular aspects of developmental biology, through studies of the early embryo, its milieu and exogenous hazards, to birth defects in man, including progress reports on current prospective studies and a section dealing with management. The illustrations in these chapters are well produced and each author gives numerous up-to-date references. A subsequent short section is devoted to summaries of fifteen concurrent discussion and paper sessions which occupied one day of the conference These accounts, although brief, are a valuable guide to current research on a wide variety of topics. The last six chapters are admirable summaries of what has gone before; the reader who wishes to be selective should consult this section first. As a reference volume this work will be of great interest and value to all pediatric surgeons who wish to keep abreast of recent advances in teratology.-I. M. Iruing.

JOURNALOF PEDIATRICSVRCEXY, VOL. 6, No. 2 ( APFXL ) ,197l

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