Customer Reviews

Sabiston Textbook of Surgery, 17e (Sabiston Textbook of Surgery: The Biological Basis of Modern Practicsurgical Practice)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I "converted" from Greenfield, pleased with the new changes to Sabiston which included better quality paper, consistent diagrams and illustrations throughout the book, and concise but relevant discussions within the chapters. This book seemed more practical than Greenfield did. Furthermore, many of the contributors are my attendings and I rely on their brilliance and expertise daily.

My problem with this book (which is unfortunately a major one) is in the editing. There are several errors in the book which go beyond typos. Some seem to be where the wrong word was substituted ("anterior" instead of "posterior"). Some involve confusing wording.

The illustrations, which were initially one of the things that appealed to me, have turned out to be overly simplistic and in some cases wrong (p.1406, illustration of colonic blood supply does not show the SMA and makes it appear that the ileocolic, right colic, and middle colic are coming straight off the aorta.) Details which would be appreciated (lateral rectal stalks and the locations of the parasympathetic/sympathetic nerves) are not there. (Please note that I am picking on the colorectal chapter, as the one I'm currently reading, but have found this issue in other chapters.)

I still like the book, but the errors are very disconcerting -- I keep wondering what errors I've read that I haven't picked up on. I'm starting a list to send to the publisher for the next edition.

The Chapters on Pancreas, esophagus, gastric surgery (peptic ulcer, and gastric cancer), melanoma, and trauma, are all marvellous, i haven.t read the others. I find it better than the previous edition. It's the best book on surgery (not operative surgery), allthough i haven't yet looked at the new edition of Schwartz, that is coming in 2005.

Ok, when compared to the "I can read series for surgery (ACS surgery)" this book obviously has much more valuable data and in depth chapters. But this book is lacking the information which is crucial for advanced learners. esp. the breast is very simple for specialists. too many errors very unfortunate for such a book with reputation. many chapters are lacking detailed information, badly organized text, reads like a British book, not very appealing for people who are used to reading American texts only. try reading sample chapters before buying one.

This book is a must. The best out there. Don't rely on screen books. For somethings, you just must have a reference book, and this is the one to get.

Great book that covers a wide breath of surgical/medical knowledge. Not the easiest of reads but for the type of reference/text that it is, I find it smoother reading than others like Greenfield's.

At a glance this book shows why I did not become a surgeon. Very good diagrams and photos. Procedures are described in such a way that with my non surgical background I still find the book an entertaining read.

Unlike voluminous texts like Harrison's, I find this text written in such a fashion that it becomes a chore to read. Given, I am not going into surgery, but any well written textbook should hold someone's interest. I find the book too vague and low yield for medical students and probably too simplistic for surgical residents. Needless to say, I am going to try to sell it before the new edition comes out.