BOOK REVIEWS

Stell and Maran’s Head and Neck Surgery, 4th edition JA Wilson, John Watkinson & M N Gaze

Handbook of Breast Surgery  AS Ball & PM Arnstein

Stell and Maran’s Head and Neck Surgery, 4th edition 
JA Wilson, John Watkinson & M N Gaze
Arnold, London ISBN 075063366

The third edition of the Stell and Maran’s Head and Neck Surgery was a book which I had read from cover to cover, several times. It was well written, easy to read and essential for my success in both the second part and the intercollegiate exams in otolaryngology. The fourth edition has carried forward this excellent text bringing it up to date and expanding it in many areas. This new edition still retains its ‘easy to read’ quality and has a clearer layout with some excellent new colour plates. Some of the previous line diagrams left over from the third edition have been kept, not always for the better, as some are imprecise, shaded diagrams (e.g figure 14.13 of pharyngeal repair after laryngectomy) but many diagrams are new and of a superior quality. In many areas the text is identical to that of the previous edition but the book does not suffer as a result of this. There is adequate demonstration of radiological imaging with plates of CT, MRI and radionuclide scans. Important points are now set out as bullet points in boxes and while some readers may find this unnecessary, for the purpose of refreshing one’s knowledge and ‘skim reading’ of important points, this is invaluable. Most welcome in the book is the expansion of the chapter on reconstruction and inclusion of demonstrations of facial plastic techniques, an excellent few pages on cancer biology and a chapter on the principles of radio- and chemotherapy. The chapter on conservation surgery explains some of the more difficult concepts in head and neck surgery, such as selective neck dissections and partial versus total thyroidectomy, giving the arguments for and against each option.

As with the edition it replaces, this text is sometimes dogmatic, but for the trainee reading about the subject for the first time this is one of Stell and Maran’s stronger points and is undoubtedly a residue from the original author’s manuscript. In most other areas, points are well debated and to some extent at least evidence-based. The whole text forms a complete resumé of head and neck surgery including many descriptions of operative techniques. TNM staging has been updated to the UICC 1997 criteria, an essential inclusion for any text on head and neck surgery, although as one must rely on the current and future UICC handbooks for further updates, ensuring Stell and Maran’s Head and Neck Surgery will remain current for at least the next few years and probably beyond. The fourth edition of Stell and Maran’s Head and Neck Surgery is now, more than ever, an essential requirement for all trainees in Otolaryngology. It is the most readable, concise, yet complete, text on this subject currently available.

Mr G. Kelly, St John’s Hospital at Howden, Livingstone

Handbook of Breast Surgery 
AS Ball & PM Arnstein 
Arnold, London
£24.99 ISBN 0340741619

When I was asked to review the Handbook of Breast Surgery by A.S. Ball and P.M. Arnstein, my first reaction was ‘not another book on breast surgery’. I therefore asked three specialist registrars to comment on the book and tell me if they would buy it. Unfortunately, their reactions were mostly in the negative.

I decided, therefore, to read the whole book myself and to my surprise found that it contains a lot of information and common sense which are brief but to the point. It summarises all the main operative surgical points and I would have thought these might be of interest to surgical trainees.

Like most medical books, by the time it is published and reviewed, it lacks some of the recent advances that are of present interest, for example the value of sentinel node biopsy. It is only by attending conferences in this country or abroad that one gets to know the latest information. To be fair, the handbook does emphasise the importance of checking the updates in the literature.

Some of the trials mentioned in the appendices have already been closed for entry, for example the UK DCIS, ATAC, BASO II and high dose chemotherapy. The latter shows very little promise at present. This handbook cannot cover all the newer drugs on trial and is not meant to do that.

What it does best, I believe, is it provides a personal approach to breast reconstruction after mastectomy but it lacks the necessary illustrations to show the good results as well as the failures. These can only be seen in more comprehensive text books of plastic breast reconstruction, which already exist.

What shall I tell my surgical trainee? To buy or not to buy? Well, if one has it in the library, don’t buy it. For a quick synopsis of the subject it is worth reading.

A. K. Ah-See, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary

©2001 The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, J.R.Coll.Surg.Edinb.