✍ Scribed by D. F. N. Harrison
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
DESPITE the best of intentions and several laborious readings, I remain totally confused as to the purpose and expected readership of this most disappointing book. The preface tells us that the book is designed to present some basic principles and techniques of reconstruction within the head and neck in a manner which will stimulate imaginative thoughts! How such worth-while intentions can be correlated with an expected readership of phlysicians, residents and medical students is hard to imagine.
There are 16 chapters covered by combinations of 13 individuals, most of whom are plastic surgeons. Evidence of a strong, coherent editorial policy is sadly lacking and the standard of both scholarship and content is as variable as chapter length. Within a total of 319 pages, 51 are devoted to an excellent account of the correction of mandibular deformities and a further 54 pages to the classification and management of craniofacial abnormalities. Both are largely concerned with 'how it is done' despite the editors plea that this is not a 'how to do it' textbook. Certainly, the 7 pages devoted to problems of reconstruction and rehabilitation following radical excision within the oral cavity offer little information or guidance on what is amongst the most difficult of head and neck surgical problems. Oncological resection of the upper jaw is dismissed within a single page and the whole book is clearly orientated towards the non-cancer patient.
Line drawings are liberal in some chapters whlst virtually absent in others. When drawn by H. M. (Hermina Kavanah) they are excellent; however, the scattering of unsigned rather crude drawings again displays absence of editorial insistence on uniformity. In this era of high class photography tb: clinical pictures are poorer than one might expect in an exceedingly well-printed book, frequently failing to emphasize the salient points made in the accompanying caption.
Bearing in mind the mmy books already in print which ably cover most aspects of surgical reconstruction within the head and neck, it is impossible to virualize a place for this particular volume. In my view it lacks depth and balance and in no way can fulfil the author's expectation of stimulating new imaginative reconstructive techniques. D. F. N. HARRISON 59 especially when it comes to dressings. The cost of a fairly slim softcover book reflects the high expense of most medical texts today. H. ELLIS
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