This is an excellent book. All aspects of non-cardiac thoracic surgery are covered, including diagnostic procedures. It should be required reading for thoracic surgeons in training who intend to pursue a career in pulmonary and oesophageal surgery. It will also be of great value to general surgeons, who do not have easy access to a thoracic unit and who need to enter the chest on occasions.
Aspects covered in the text include: diagnostic procedures, such as rigid and flexible bronchoscopy, mediastinoscopy and thoracoscopy, and all aspects of tracheal, pulmonary, oesophageal, mediastinal and chest wall surgery. Each section is preceded by the essential anatomy and the basic indications for the procedure. The reader is taken step-by-step through each operation, assisted by numerous, very clear, and well presented line drawings. There are many tips, which have only been acquired by long experience, and which make the dissection easier and safer so avoiding many of the common pit-falls. It is refreshing to see that basic suture techniques are described in detail for both pulmonary and oesophageal resection. With the advent of modern stapling instruments, it is still essential to be adept in the standard suturing techniques in case the stapling instruments are not available or rarely if there is an instrument failure.