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Operative surgery
BOOK REVIEWS UPPER EXTREMITY REPLANTATION: Basic Principles, Surgical Technique and Strategy. By Viktor E. Meyer, M. D. Chief, Division for Surgery of the Hand and Peripheral Nerves, Surgical Clinic B, University of Zurich Medical School, Zurich, Switzerland. 119 pages, 197 illustrations, hardback. Churchill Livingstone 1985, Price &39, ISBN o-443-08448-3. This is an excellent book which deals with every aspect of replantation surgery. All the necessary basic techniques, such as microvascular anastomosis, nerve, tendon and bone repair are described very clearly, so there is no need to refer to other texts to understand the methods that the author recommends. All other aspects relating to indications, contraindications, management, complications, secondary postoperative procedures and results are presented clearly and thoroughly. The text is scattered with the pearls of wisdom that indicates the vast experience and perception of the author. A short, but excellent, atlas of anatomy is included, even though it is not in the colour of the original published elsewhere. The text is profusely illustrated, including a section of clinical examples at the end. There is an exceptionally extensive list of references. I recommend the book to both trainees seeking a complete treatment of the subject, and the more experienced for the finer points of advice. M. J. M. Black.
OPERATIVE SURGERY. By Rob & Smith: 4th Edition. Hand Edition by Rolfe Birch & Donal Brooks 1984, f65, ISBN 407006532. London Butterworth. This book follows the pattern of its predecessors in its style of presentation. It comprehensively deals with most of the common conditions found in hand surgery and would serve as a quick reference for the trained surgeon or senior trainee who wished to revise a procedure quickly. It therefore would find more use on the shelf of a bench library rather than in a reference library. The experienced hand surgeon would probably not derive a great deal of value from this book and the trainees who might be expected to use this might not consider it particularly good value for money taking into account the quite expensive areas of blank space and the sometimes over large and at times unnecessary diagrams. There has also been an element of repetition which is almost inevitable in a book of this nature unless particularly strict editorial control is exercised. The chapter on primary repair of divided tendons and the chapter on tendon injuries of the hand could well have been combined and the references to primary surgery of divided flexor tendons without the application of a tourniquet and the references to a tenogram (which might imply that this was a commonly used procedure) could well be omitted. Notwithstanding the above criticism this is nevertheless an excellent book, particularly well written without an observed single error in the text. All of the common hand operations are described and most if not all of the recommendations would find universal acceptance. This book should be available to all who are training in hand surgery and should be readily available in the precincts of all operating theatres. John Colville VOL. 11-B No. 3 OCTOBER 1986
VASCULAR SURGERY Edited by Peter Bell and Nicholas Tilney. E30.00. Butterworths International Medical Reviews, Surgery 4. 1985 ISBN O-407-02320-8 This book provides a useful window on current thinking and practice in vascular surgery, and there is to be found in it a surprising amount to interest the orthopaedic, plastic or hand surgeon. It is well edited., and each contribution reads well and fits in to the book as a whole without repetition. The first chapter asks which vascular investigations are really necessary, and gives useful information particularly on non-invasive tests which have some application in our field. A detailed review of drugs used to influence vascular physiology follows, giving a very clear account of a subject of considerable relevance. A table summarising these drugs is most helpful. The chapter on acute venous thrombosis and chronic venous insufficiency is particularly good and highly relevant. It is a little disappointing not to find a detailed account of the technique of mapping incompetent perforators which would be useful, and the reference to this in the text is incorrect and also in a difficult publication to acquire. Other chapters of some interest include the investigation and treatment of impotence, amputations at various levels in the lower limb, and the final chapter speculating on future trends. Vascular surgery in the upper limb is not covered, which reduces the book’s appeal to the hand surgeon, who will also find it difficult to contemplate surgery on the distal limb vessels without the microscope. For the surgeon interested in acquiring basic understanding of vascular surgery in the context of another specialty, this book has a great deal in its favour and can be strongly recommended. David Evans
THE WRIST By Julio Taleisnik. 442 pages. Illustrations. Index. Bibliography. f80. Churchill Livingstone, New York, Edinburgh, London and Melbourne. 1985 ISBN o-443-08134-4. From time to time a monograph appears on a particular topic which no-one working in that field can reasonably neglect or, in fact, be without. Such is Julio Taleisnik ‘s book on the wrist. The wrist is a complex system of bones and joints which must be under most effective control if there is to be any semblance of efficient hand function. Disorganisations of the complex may thus lead to major functional loss in the whole hand. The book begins with a major study on the anatomy and kinematics of the region. Then comes an analysis of injuries and instabilities of the carpus, these latter being most beautifully analysed. Finally the problems of the effects of rheumatoid disease on the wrist are assessed and their treatments considered. Although a major part of the book is derived from the authors own researches, the views of a wide range of other workers are considered in relation to his own. References are noted in an excellent bibliography appended to each chapter. The book is lavishly illustrated using a large number of black and white photographs (most of which are satisfactory if not outstanding in quality), excellent radiographs and drawings. I cannot praise this book too highly and I am confident that it will long remain the definative work on this most important region. Kenneth Backhouse 483
OPERATIVE SURGERY. By Rob & Smith: 4th Edition. Hand Edition by Rolfe Birch & Donal Brooks 1984, f65, ISBN 407006532. London Butterworth. This book follows the pattern of its predecessors in its style of presentation. It comprehensively deals with most of the common conditions found in hand surgery and would serve as a quick reference for the trained surgeon or senior trainee who wished to revise a procedure quickly. It therefore would find more use on the shelf of a bench library rather than in a reference library. The experienced hand surgeon would probably not derive a great deal of value from this book and the trainees who might be expected to use this might not consider it particularly good value for money taking into account the quite expensive areas of blank space and the sometimes over large and at times unnecessary diagrams. There has also been an element of repetition which is almost inevitable in a book of this nature unless particularly strict editorial control is exercised. The chapter on primary repair of divided tendons and the chapter on tendon injuries of the hand could well have been combined and the references to primary surgery of divided flexor tendons without the application of a tourniquet and the references to a tenogram (which might imply that this was a commonly used procedure) could well be omitted. Notwithstanding the above criticism this is nevertheless an excellent book, particularly well written without an observed single error in the text. All of the common hand operations are described and most if not all of the recommendations would find universal acceptance. This book should be available to all who are training in hand surgery and should be readily available in the precincts of all operating theatres. John Colville VOL. 11-B No. 3 OCTOBER 1986
VASCULAR SURGERY Edited by Peter Bell and Nicholas Tilney. E30.00. Butterworths International Medical Reviews, Surgery 4. 1985 ISBN O-407-02320-8 This book provides a useful window on current thinking and practice in vascular surgery, and there is to be found in it a surprising amount to interest the orthopaedic, plastic or hand surgeon. It is well edited., and each contribution reads well and fits in to the book as a whole without repetition. The first chapter asks which vascular investigations are really necessary, and gives useful information particularly on non-invasive tests which have some application in our field. A detailed review of drugs used to influence vascular physiology follows, giving a very clear account of a subject of considerable relevance. A table summarising these drugs is most helpful. The chapter on acute venous thrombosis and chronic venous insufficiency is particularly good and highly relevant. It is a little disappointing not to find a detailed account of the technique of mapping incompetent perforators which would be useful, and the reference to this in the text is incorrect and also in a difficult publication to acquire. Other chapters of some interest include the investigation and treatment of impotence, amputations at various levels in the lower limb, and the final chapter speculating on future trends. Vascular surgery in the upper limb is not covered, which reduces the book’s appeal to the hand surgeon, who will also find it difficult to contemplate surgery on the distal limb vessels without the microscope. For the surgeon interested in acquiring basic understanding of vascular surgery in the context of another specialty, this book has a great deal in its favour and can be strongly recommended. David Evans
THE WRIST By Julio Taleisnik. 442 pages. Illustrations. Index. Bibliography. f80. Churchill Livingstone, New York, Edinburgh, London and Melbourne. 1985 ISBN o-443-08134-4. From time to time a monograph appears on a particular topic which no-one working in that field can reasonably neglect or, in fact, be without. Such is Julio Taleisnik ‘s book on the wrist. The wrist is a complex system of bones and joints which must be under most effective control if there is to be any semblance of efficient hand function. Disorganisations of the complex may thus lead to major functional loss in the whole hand. The book begins with a major study on the anatomy and kinematics of the region. Then comes an analysis of injuries and instabilities of the carpus, these latter being most beautifully analysed. Finally the problems of the effects of rheumatoid disease on the wrist are assessed and their treatments considered. Although a major part of the book is derived from the authors own researches, the views of a wide range of other workers are considered in relation to his own. References are noted in an excellent bibliography appended to each chapter. The book is lavishly illustrated using a large number of black and white photographs (most of which are satisfactory if not outstanding in quality), excellent radiographs and drawings. I cannot praise this book too highly and I am confident that it will long remain the definative work on this most important region. Kenneth Backhouse 483