BOOK REVIEWS Edited by Mark J. Mannis, M.D.
Corneal Surgery. Theory, Technique, and Tis sue, ed. 2. Edited by Frederick S. Brightbill. St. Louis, Missouri, Mosby Year Book, Inc., 1993. 763 pages, index, illustrated. $189
will be indispensable to eye-bank profession als, corneal subspecialists and any ophthalmol ogist who performs corneal surgery even occa sionally.
Reviewed by RANDY J. EPSTEIN
Chicago, Illinois This unique textbook emphasizes the impor tance of the acquisition, screening, and distri bution of high-quality donor tissue and its central role in the expanding field of corneal surgery. Its publication is the result of the combined efforts of many corneal surgeons and eye bank professionals who are active in the Eye Bank Association of America. The inclusion of contributions from many of the most gifted communicators in this field provides the reader with a comprehensive overview of corneal surgery that is unavailable in any other single textbook. Particularly ex ceptional, all-encompassing chapters include those or ocular surface disease, the surgical correction of astigmatism, and the fundamen tals of laser surgery of the cornea. In what appears to be an effort to include as many of those as possible who have made important contributions, however, some chapters are ex cessively segmented with separate authors cov ering theory, technique, and evaluation of pub lished results. This approach occasionally interferes with readability and, in some cases, results in redundancy. The organization of the book is somewhat distracting, with chapters on specific patholog ic conditions juxtaposed to those on surgical technique. Only a brief overview of corneal topography is included, which is understand able in light of the fairly recent development of this technology. The final section of this book includes a fascinating history of eye banks, an account of the formation of the Eye Bank Association of America, and the political, operational, and medicolegal aspects of the acquisition and dis tribution of ocular tissue for transplantation. Also included is an excellent chapter on the evaluation of corneal donor tissue. The editor and the contributors have provided us with an invaluable compendium of information, which
International Ophthalmology Clinics. Update on Malignant Ocular Tumors, vol. 33. Edited by Jerry A. Shields. Boston, Little, Brown and Company, 1993. 229 pages, index, illustrated. $39 Reviewed by JAMES T. HANDA
Sacramento, California This text provides the ophthalmologist with recent developments in ocular oncology with 27 short, concise chapters. Each chapter is thoughtfully organized in a clinical format of general considerations, clinical features, labo ratory and histopathology features, treatment, and prognosis. Succinct overviews on Merkel cell carcinoma, the newly recognized malignan cy: recent breakthroughs in genetic aspects of uveal melanoma and retinoblastoma; and up dates in diagnostic techniques (fine-needle bi opsy and magnetic resonance imaging) and therapeutic techniques (hydroxyapatite orbital implants, photocoagulation, cryopexy, and plaque radiotherapy for retinoblastoma) high light the text. Perhaps the most intriguing chapter introduces the reader to the emerging techniques that diagnose subclinical uveal mel anoma metastasis. However, the reader should be aware of a few flaws. This survey focuses only on the editor's experience. An update of other modalities, such as charged particle radi otherapy or hyperthermia, would give a more well rounded view of ocular oncology. Some chapters, such as basal cell carcinoma, tumors of the optic nerve head, and lacrimal gland tumors, do not offer new information different from that contained in well-established texts. Several chapters focus on unpublished re search. Overall, however, this text provides a quick, informative overview of pertinent issues in ophthalmic oncology.
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