Surgery Books

Really wonderful book for who want to kwow more about small animal anesthesia and analgesia. It was my bether choice.

Up to now, mosts of the spinal surgery textbooks have some icthing points (especially to residents or little experience surgeons -ex.1.Definition Spine surgery part

Most people with experience of surgery textbooks aimed at students would agree that writing such a book seems to be an extremely difficult task. It is appears very hard for the authors to know at what level to pitch the information - should details of practical procedures be included? What about the basic science? What about history taking and clinical examination? None of the books seem to get the formula quite right and students dip into their meagre bank accounts in order to buy slightly inadequate texts. It will come as a surprise, then, to find that there is a book which makes it all look easy. Essentials of Surgery has the formula cracked. It almost exudes authority and relaxes in the knowledge that it is delivering exactly what is required. The first half of the book deals with the basic science behind surgical diseases, from cellular biology right through to transplant immunology. The reader's journey through the book is clearly sign-posted at all times and the copious diagrams and tables ensure that even the most complex arguments are rendered rational and lucid. The second part of the book deals with surgical practice and is divided according to body systems. Each section begins with the anatomy, physiology and embryology of the system in question and follows with diseases of that system. At all times, the reader is introduced to the clinical features, diagnosis, investigations and management of each disease. There are even brief descriptions of the surgical procedures enabling the student to impress their consultant and know what is happening when they see the operation in theatre. Despite the monochrome diagrams, this is not the cheapest of books available to students and certainly would not fit into the beloved white coat pocket but when the "information delivered versus cost" equation is considered, there can be no doubt that Essentials of Surgery comes out very much on top. Admittedly, this book may not be everyone's cup of tea and there are many books that deliver less information in a slightly more edible form. However, I believe that any medical student who is serious about learning surgery would be foolish to buy any other text.

I love this book. It is a really good review for everything I have learned thusfar, and it has great surgery information!

Susanne Warfield is the sharpest, brightest and most dyanmic esthetician/ esthetician trainer in the world today. She is the editor of the PCI Journal aimed at the professional esthetician and she more than any other single individual has worked to raise esthetics from a trade to a profession. If you are a doc thinking of having an esthetician in your practice or an esthetician thinking of getting a job in a medical office, you must read this book. This is the only "manual" for getting up and going in this growth industry. If this book were retitled as a "Dummy's Guide to Physician Praxctice Based Estheticians" or "A Dummy's Guide to Physician Praxctice Based Estheticians" it would probably be a best seller.

Daniel M. Siegel, M.D., M.S. Vice Chairman Associate Professor of Clinical Dermatology State University of New York at Stony Brook Stony Brook, NY

And in the third millenium of the new era there arose among us a group of men and woman who have come to be known as "medical ethicists." Well meaning and well educated, they wrestled with the toughest issues in medicine: autonomy, paternalism, futility, euthanasia, death with dignity, allocation of resources, quality of life issues and the like.

As economic pressures on the health care industry grew the influence of the ethicists likewise grew. The ethicists then retired to their ivory tower to ask questions and attempt to find meaningful answers. In time, their ranks were swelled by people of influence whose agenda and purpose was less noble. In time, the work of the ethicists was used to create a new world medical order ...

History may one day read this way. As a Nephrologist I shudder at the thought of the principles of Hippocrates and Maimanodies, which bound the duty of the physician to the patient, with a system which binds the duty of the physician to the government or 3rd party payor.

The reason that we find this prospect abhorrent is that our generation was raised with a strong Judeo-Christian tradition supported by the principles of individual liberty embodied in the revolution of the enlightenment.

However, before the first shots were fired in the Revolution, our founding fathers and their collegues in Europe worked to change the hearts and minds of the people of the world with the most powerful tool they had: the pen.

The younger generation of physicians are being asked to adopt a view that may even be something other than post-modern. Wesley Smith refers to this as a "Culture of Death" wherein the very meaning of life, liberty, soul, health, quality of life, are redefined to suit the new medical "ethics" of cost effectiveness, medical rationing, withdrawing care, with-holding care etc.

The dialysis population of the United States is represented by some of the poorest, uneducated and disenfranchised patients in the health care system. This is especially true of dialysis patients in the deep rural Southeast where I live and work. The cost of a year of hemodialysis has become the "standard" upon which all other diagnostic and theraputic items are compared in terms of cost-effectiveness. Decreasing the annual cost of care of dialysis patients lowers the bar for us all. Beware. Everyone should beware and take notice.

Increasingly, sick, elderly, complicated patients are seen as a burden to society. As Wesley Smith points out, creating a "heirarchy of Human life" is a recurring theme in our history. In the last century, the Eugenics movement, represented by "Die Freigabe der Vernichtung lebensunwertten Leben" (Permission to Destroy Life Unworthy of Life"), was believed to be the philosophical basis upon which Hitler formed his Eugenics program and Holocaust. This work was written by a famous law professor, Karl Binding, and a physician and "humanitarian", Alfred Hoche. It is an example of medical "ethics" gone bad. It is sobering to remember that physicians participated, administered and executed each and every part of Hitler's "Eugenic's Program" and "Final Solution."

Today, the Eugenicists are called Social Darwinists by their critics. The roles of Binding and Hoche, long dead and forgotten, are being played on the stage of this tragedy by another group of well-meaning philosophers and ethicists. History repeats itself.

Thankfully we have works like that of Norman Levinsky and Eli Freidman ("Legal and Ethical Concerns in Treating Kidney Failure Case Study Workbook"). As the first generation of nephrologists ages and retires they retire with them an important part of medical history. These physicians well remember the days before 1972 when only a fortunate few had access to life saving dialysis.

Patients were presented before "tribunals" composed of laymen, clergy, hospital administrators and doctors. They had to choose who was worthy of dialysis and who was not. A white 35 year old banker, father of two would receive treatment whereas a Black woman living in rural South had a snow ball's chance in Hades of receiving dialysis.

These older Nephrologists witnessed everyday what we rarely witness today: the pain, stench and suffering of a patient dying of uremia. The crys and stench rarely reach the top of the ivory tower where the great grandchildren of Binder and Hoche play their roles.

Levinsky's book should be a must read for every physician caring for sick patients. The issues raised are practical, everyday issues that go the heart and soul of the survival of the traditional medical ethics we have taken for granted. It is written with a balanced perspective. There is no political agenda. This is an academic work that combines experience, philosophy, law and ethics. The subject matter is comprehensive and I was impressed with the sections dealing with issues outside the USA.

There are no cookbook answers. Only the same old questions which will plague those who follow us well into the next millenium. Levinsky's book gives good food for thought as we try to help our patients, be their doctors and advocates. It gives us something to work with other than our own bias and preferences.

These great men witnessed something that my generation would find unthinkable. Physicians in need of a moral and ethical compass should look to such men for guidance. They won't be with us much longer.

Every Nephrologist and Transplant Surgeon should have this book on their shelf with the binder clearly cracked and worn from use.

This is an great introduction for those of us who are familiar with only one skin type. The photographs and text are excellent, and they cover many of the normal variations and pathological conditions involving nails, hair, and skin. The book also explains many of the skin/hair care practices which are unique to non-white ethnic groups. The book mostly covers black skin, but there are a few sections on hispanic and asian skin. It also has a section on plastic surgery. I pretty much read the book cover-to-cover.

This book is easy to read even if you are not from a medical background.It has a lot of easy to follow diagrams. It seems to cover most of the common operations and procedures. It explains the operation, what you will have to go through if you have surgery and talks about the risks in some detail. It is a great read and is very easy to understand. I highly recommend it.

Hat's off to Dr Peter Kertes and Dr T Mark Johnson for bringing together a great group of authors and then editing this amazing and unique resource that should be a part of every resident and staff ophthalmologist's library. I freely state my bias having recently co-authored a paper with Dr Peter Kertes targeted to ophthalmic para professionals soon to be published in Eye Care Review titled "The Medical Managements of Wet Age Related Macular Degeneration, A Special Review for Ophthalmic Para Professionals" , and my connection to Dr Emily Chew, a fellow Torontonian and author of the foward to this ophthalmic staple. I have also recommended the chapter by Dr Sanjay Sharma to undergraduate summer research students just being introduced to medcial study design and outcome measures. For my peers, this book should be of interest to those who wish to come to a better understanding of how treatment modalities are selected on a case by case basis, as every ground breaking study is highlighted and explained in language that will be uderstood, even for their level. I have come to a better understanding of the value of learning through reading and writing from Peter Kertes, a natural born writer being the brother of Joseph Kertes whose newest work of fiction "Gratitude" (Penguin Group Canada) has recently been published.

Gail Forster
Ophthalmic Medical Technician
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center-Department of Ophthalmology, Retina Service
Chair-Ophthalmic Assistants and Technicians Section, Academy of Ophthalmic Education
Editor-in-Chief-Eye Care Review, Ophthalmic Para Professionals Section

"Evidence based neurology" is a thin book with a small table of content. Many exotic question will not be covered there but for daily neurological routine it seems mandatory to me. Well, neurological evidence may increase in time and this book is a well done start.