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The practice of general surgery
The American Journal of Surgery 184 (2002) 181
Book review The Practice of General Surgery by Kirby Bland, M.D. Publisher: W.B. Saunders, 2002. Pages: 1,296. Price: $135. This 1,260-page first edition text from the respected surgical oncologist Kirby Bland and slightly more than 300 contributors is designed to complement any one of the major surgical texts in print. What is lost in the morass of information to the reader of a major textbook is found in the clarity and conciseness of this text. The text is divided into 10 major sections, each a major discipline of the practice of general surgery. The table of contents is conveniently organized into benign versus malignant disorders of individual organs, where appropriate, and is surprisingly detailed for a large general surgery text. Containing a total of 184 chapters, one can imagine that each is small enough to educate and yet leave the reader sufficiently energized to move to the next topic. Such chapters as “Postcholecystectomy syndromes,” “Small intestinal diverticular disease,” and “Thyroid abnormalities encountered in surgical critical care”— generally nonexistent or hidden within lengthy chapters in the major texts—are in plain view and pique the reader’s curiosity. Aside from the exceptional content provided by the many world-renowned contributors, two major strengths of the text are its visual organization and end-of-chapter “Pearls and Pitfalls” boxes. Few utilities aimed at fostering learning and comprehension are more effective than repe-
tition, and the boxes succinctly highlight the major points of the preceding chapter. The option of reading these boxes prior to beginning the chapter is another opportunity provided by the authors at improving efficiency and retention. Headings of tables are in bold type so as to facilitate comprehension but seem few in number. Subsequently, infrequent references to them within the body of the text do not distract the reader. Radiographs and drawings are abundant, however, and of excellent quality. Other surgical disciplines are represented and six chapters on benign and malignant gynecologic disorders prove another unique aspect of the text. The advent of laparoscopy has placed gynecologic disorders in the realm of frequently encountered scenarios of the practicing general surgeon. Concise, carefully selected inclusions to the end-of-chapter bibliographies provide the reader with further resources to study. The text is not comprehensive, and that represents its only weakness, albeit a weakness the editors never endeavored to avoid. It represents a perfectly suited companion to the surgical resident with diminutive periods of reading time as well as an engaging, markedly up to date text for the high-volume community general surgeon with little structured time for personal education.
0002-9610/02/$ – see front matter © 2002 Excerpta Medica, Inc. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 0 0 2 - 9 6 1 0 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 9 1 0 - 8
Eric G. Davis, M.D. Department of Surgery University of Louisville Louisville, Kentucky
Book review The Practice of General Surgery by Kirby Bland, M.D. Publisher: W.B. Saunders, 2002. Pages: 1,296. Price: $135. This 1,260-page first edition text from the respected surgical oncologist Kirby Bland and slightly more than 300 contributors is designed to complement any one of the major surgical texts in print. What is lost in the morass of information to the reader of a major textbook is found in the clarity and conciseness of this text. The text is divided into 10 major sections, each a major discipline of the practice of general surgery. The table of contents is conveniently organized into benign versus malignant disorders of individual organs, where appropriate, and is surprisingly detailed for a large general surgery text. Containing a total of 184 chapters, one can imagine that each is small enough to educate and yet leave the reader sufficiently energized to move to the next topic. Such chapters as “Postcholecystectomy syndromes,” “Small intestinal diverticular disease,” and “Thyroid abnormalities encountered in surgical critical care”— generally nonexistent or hidden within lengthy chapters in the major texts—are in plain view and pique the reader’s curiosity. Aside from the exceptional content provided by the many world-renowned contributors, two major strengths of the text are its visual organization and end-of-chapter “Pearls and Pitfalls” boxes. Few utilities aimed at fostering learning and comprehension are more effective than repe-
tition, and the boxes succinctly highlight the major points of the preceding chapter. The option of reading these boxes prior to beginning the chapter is another opportunity provided by the authors at improving efficiency and retention. Headings of tables are in bold type so as to facilitate comprehension but seem few in number. Subsequently, infrequent references to them within the body of the text do not distract the reader. Radiographs and drawings are abundant, however, and of excellent quality. Other surgical disciplines are represented and six chapters on benign and malignant gynecologic disorders prove another unique aspect of the text. The advent of laparoscopy has placed gynecologic disorders in the realm of frequently encountered scenarios of the practicing general surgeon. Concise, carefully selected inclusions to the end-of-chapter bibliographies provide the reader with further resources to study. The text is not comprehensive, and that represents its only weakness, albeit a weakness the editors never endeavored to avoid. It represents a perfectly suited companion to the surgical resident with diminutive periods of reading time as well as an engaging, markedly up to date text for the high-volume community general surgeon with little structured time for personal education.
0002-9610/02/$ – see front matter © 2002 Excerpta Medica, Inc. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 0 0 2 - 9 6 1 0 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 9 1 0 - 8
Eric G. Davis, M.D. Department of Surgery University of Louisville Louisville, Kentucky