Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery

The book contains both black-and-white and color illustrations.

Steven J. Stryker

This new multiauthored textbook brings together the rapidly accumulating body of knowledge regarding laparoscopic colorectal surgery. The chapters are focused, concise, and for the most part, supplemented by editorial comment. The authors attempt to highlight controversies surrounding the application of laparoscopic techniques to colorectal surgery. While clearly articulating the existing controversies regarding this technology, this book fails to resolve many of these issues. Nonetheless, the reader is stimulated to ponder these questions and attempt to resolve them based on personal experience and other reference sources. The target audience for this text includes colorectal surgeons and trainees, gastrointestinal surgeons, and general surgeons with an interest in advanced laparoscopic techniques. The line drawings in this book are abundant and of high quality and enhance and complement the text greatly. Laparoscopic photographs are of variable quality. The type is easy to read and the overall layout of chapters attractive. One or two editorial comments accompany most chapters and provide alternative viewpoints on these innovative approaches. This book is a welcome addition to the field of advanced laparoscopic surgery. Its authors include several internationally known and well-respected colorectal surgeons, each bringing a somewhat unique perspective to this text. Although this book appears current with respect to the topics discussed, the very nature of a rapidly evolving field warrants reevaluation of our state of knowledge of this topic in the next few years. Nonetheless, its current value is great, and this book should be a part of every medical school library andpersonal library of those interested in advanced laparoscopic techniques.

Jager, Rama M., MD, PhD (Indiana Univ); Wexner, Steven D., MD (Cleveland Clinic Florida)

The contributors represent the specialties of surgery, colon and rectal surgery, and anesthesia and critical care. Most are from academic medical centers in the U.S., Germany, the U.K., Brazil, France, Singapore, Sweden, and Canada. Institutions prominently represented include Columbia, Cleveland Clinic Florida, Indiana Univ, and Univ of Erlangen-Nuremberg.