Customer Reviews

Essentials of Surgery: Scientific Principles and Practice

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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.

perfect manual to review didactic approaches in general surgery.
a good lecture for surgical residents preparing basic exam.
as it has been published in 1997 it isnt a great reference for laparoscopy and bio-genetics