This book is written by two trauma surgeons from the Ben Taub General Hospital in Houston, Texas. Between them, they clearly have many years of experience in the management of trauma victims. The book is concise, well written and very easy to read. The text is also well supported by frequent good-quality illustrations.
The book is divided into four sections. Section 1 is essentially an introduction and sections II, III and IV deal with trauma to the abdomen, the chest, and neck and extremities, respectively. The important principle of damage limitation in trauma surgery is emphasised throughout the book and the authors have succeeded in conveying the potential pitfalls in relation to particular trauma operations. A useful summary of key points is also given at the end of each chapter. The principles of trauma surgery are clearly set out with an emphasis on decision making in particular scenarios.
A practical summary of the salient points of the operative technique are given, rather than a detailed description such as that provided by a standard operative textbook. The book also does not discuss the non-operative management of trauma or pre- and postoperative care. In addition, there are no references to key research papers to support the text. These factors limit the usefulness of the book in the preparation for examinations but, despite that, it does represent a useful practical guide to dealing with general surgical trauma on a day-to-day basis. My biggest criticism is the lack of an index, which I found quite irritating when one wishes to look up a specific scenario.
This book would be invaluable to general surgical trainees, in particular specialist registrars in general surgery who, with changes in surgical training, are likely to have increasingly limited opportunity to become confident in the operative management of trauma. I would also recommend it to all basic surgical trainees involved in the care of trauma patients.
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