Book Review
Essentials of Pediatric Surgery
N Engl J Med 1995; 332:1586-1587June 8, 1995
- Article
Essentials of Pediatric Surgery
By Marc I. Rowe, James A. O'Neill, Jr., Jay L. Grosfeld, Eric W. Fonkalsrud, and Arnold G. Coran. 899 pp., illustrated. St. Louis, Mosby, 1995. $99. ISBN: 0-8016-7472-7Thy publish another textbook of pediatric surgery when the field is already crowded with alternatives? A group of distinguished pediatric surgeons, who will also edit a forthcoming large, two-volume textbook on pediatric surgery, have produced this work to fill what they perceived to be an open niche; its goal is to provide the “essentials” of pediatric surgery for pediatric, general surgery, and pediatric surgery residents, as well as for general surgeons and pediatricians dealing with these problems.
The format of the textbook is well designed to achieve its goal. All chapters are jointly authored by the editors without individual credit, providing a remarkable uniformity of style and presentation. Only a handful of annotated references appear with each chapter, and there are no specific citations for data within the text. A large number of line drawings, as well as photographs and radiographs, enhance the text, as do treatment algorithms and diagrams.
The initial portion of the book provides a basic introduction, including chapters on respiratory and cardiovascular physiology, the stress response, nutritional and fluid management, anesthesia in infants and children, and prenatal diagnosis and surgery.
The second major segment of the book is a unique presentation of procedures frequently performed on infants and children, ranging from vascular access and thoracostomy-tube placement to more complicated procedures, such as tracheostomy and laparoscopy. The third segment provides an extensive introduction to the treatment of injured children. Each chapter presents an anatomical system, with its injuries and their management. These basic background sections comprise almost a third of the book, as would be expected in such a work.
In the remainder of the book, the authors present common surgically treated pediatric disorders, organized according to anatomical sites and presented in a clear and concise manner easily understood by those who do not deal with these problems on a daily basis. There are chapters on orthopedic, neurosurgical, and cardiac anomalies that are of importance to the pediatric surgeon, as well as a substantial series of chapters on pediatric urology.
The authors are to be commended for achieving their goal. Their book is not an encyclopedic reference, but that was not its purpose. It will be read by many in surgery as well as in pediatrics who are in search of a grasp of the essentials of pediatric surgery.
Robert C. Shamberger, M.D.
Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115
