Preface

Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Surgery is a ready source of information about diseases managed by surgeons. Like other books in this Lange series, it emphasizes quick recall of major diagnostic features and brief descriptions of disease processes, followed by approaches for definitive diagnosis and treatment. Epidemiology, pathophysiology, and pathology are discussed to the extent that they contribute to the ultimate purpose of the book, which is guidance for patient care. About one-third of the book is focused on general medical and surgical topics important in the management of all patients.

The book also includes limited current references to literature for the reader who wishes to pursue specific additional detail. Because of the concise nature of this text, more focused exploration may be useful to gain detail in specific areas.

• To maintain currency of the information, this text is revised and updated frequently. The most recent edition was published in 2020. With each revision, particular subjects are completely, substantially, partially, or minimally rewritten as indicated by the progress in each field. New authors and chapters are introduced for the text as needed.

• This edition includes major revisions of many chapters, and entirely new chapters on:

  • Operating Room Safety

  • Imaging- & Computer-Assisted Surgery

  • Inflammation, Infection, & Antibiotics

  • Anesthesiology

  • Breast

  • Thoracic Wall, Pleura, Mediastinum, & Lung

  • The Heart: Acquired Diseases

  • The Heart: Congenital Diseases

  • Appendix

  • Small Intestine

  • Large Intestine

  • Anorectum

  • Abdominal Wall Hernias

  • Adrenals

  • The Eye & Ocular Adnexa

  • Hand Surgery

• Students: This is an authoritative introduction to surgery as the discipline is taught and practiced at major teaching institutions.

• Residents: This is a ready reference for concise discussions of the diseases faced each day, as well as the less common ones calling for quick study.

• Medical practitioners: Those who have occasion to counsel patients needing surgical referrals appreciate the concise readability of this book.

• Practicing surgeons: A most useful guide to current management strategies.

This book is arranged chiefly by organ system. Early chapters provide general information about the relationship between surgeons and their patients (Chapter 1), training and professionalism (Chapter 2), preoperative care (Chapter 3), postoperative care (Chapter 4), and surgical complications (Chapter 5). Subsequent chapters deal with wound healing, inflammation, infection, antibiotics, fluid and electrolyte management, and surgical metabolism and nutrition. The main series of body systems topics begins with the chapter on head and neck tumors and ends with the chapter on hand surgery. Further chapters on pediatric surgery, oncology, weight management, and organ transplantation complete the coverage.

Along with the customary revision of all sections as called for by changing concepts in each field covered, in this edition, multiple-choice questions and answers have been added to supplement most chapters.