Introduction to Minimal Access Surgery CMAJ 1997;156:895 Edited by Timothy H. Brown and M.H. Irving. 85 pp. Illust. BMJ Publishing Group, London. 1995. Distributed in Canada by the Canadian Medical Association, Ottawa. $85.95 ($71.95 CMA members). ISBN 0-7279-0885-5 [ How to order this book ] Overall rating: Good Strengths: Easy to read, good illustrations Weaknesses: Attempts to cover too wide a field Audience: Surgeons in training, general practitioners and medical students This book was written at the request of the BMJ Publishing Group to illustrate the scope of minimal access surgery today. Its audience includes surgeons in training, general practitioners and medical students. The style and format are those of the British Medical Journal, and the book is therefore easy to read. The editors are well-known and respected British surgeons. The contributors are mainly consultant surgeons from teaching and community hospitals. The contents are wide ranging, and the chapters dealing with the history of surgery and surgical equipment are of interest. The section on training is very important but is less relevant to surgeons training in North America because, unlike in the United States and Canada, the use of live animals for training purposes is illegal in Britain. The contributors cover the indications for surgery as well as the techniques and complications. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is discussed in the greatest detail, as one would expect. The chapters on hernia, appendectomy, upper gastrointestinal disorders and colorectal surgery are covered more superficially but well enough to give the reader a good grasp of the subject matter. Laparoscopic appendectomy does not appear to be as popular as laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The complexity of the section on hernia repair reinforces the fact that many general surgeons are going to the "mesh-plug" technique rather than adopting the laparoscopic approach. Sections on gynecologic, urologic, thoracic, ear, nose and throat, and orthopedic surgery are well illustrated and easy to read, but these topics are better dealt with in specialty books. All in all, this is an easy book to read, good for quick reference and appropriate for the readers that it was designed for. Victor M. Kaminsky, MD Ottawa, Ont. Send a letter to the editor responding to this review Envoyez une lettre à la rédaction au sujet de cet article | CMAJ March 15, 1997 (vol 156, no 6) / JAMC le 15 mars 1997 (vol 156, no 6) |