Intraoperative and Laparoscopic Ultrasonography

From The Critics

Reviewer: David L. Nahrwold, MD(Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine)
Description: This 128-page book provides the general surgeon with detailed information on the practical intra-abdominal applications of ultrasound. The five chapters explain the basic and general principles of intraoperative and laparoscopic ultrasound, ultrasonography of the gallbladder and bile ducts, the liver, the pancreas, and finally, future applications of ultrasound. In each chapter, the uses of ultrasonography at open operations and laparoscopic procedures are treated separately.
Purpose: The author aims to provide the general surgeon and the radiologist with an understanding of intraoperative and laparoscopic ultrasonography. Not all surgeons are facile in using ultrasonography at the operating table; thus, the book is timely and helpful.
Audience: The audience is surgical residents and practicing surgeons who are not expert in ultrasonography. The author is a Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant in Surgery at the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh. His four collaborators work at the same institution.
Features: Liberally illustrated with clear ultrasound images as well as diagrams and pictures of probes, the book is well organized. The text is clear, concise and well written. The references are current. Their number is about right. The index is extensive.
Assessment: This is a practical, helpful book. The general surgeon who desires to use ultrasound will find it valuable. Some elements of the subject are missing; the scope of the book is narrow. For example, no mention is made of its use in staging cancers other than those of the liver, bile ducts, and pancreas. Nevertheless, surgeons will find it a useful reference on this relatively new intraoperative aid.