Ambulatory Colorectal Surgery PDF

Preface

The face of medicine has changed significantly in the 21st century. Emphasis is placed on minimally invasive techniques and shorter hospitalization. This medical climate has challenged physicians to provide excellent care of increasingly complex problems often in the outpatient setting and frequently using multidisciplinary approaches.

As such, we have been motivated to write a new colon and rectal surgery textbook capitalizing on the shifting practices of medicine in the 21st century. This book represents a compilation of office-based diagnoses, conditions, and treatments that are commonly encountered in general and colon and rectal surgical practices. Attention is paid to all facets of outpatient colorectal surgery including the evaluation and treatment of complex pelvic floor pathology.

Many office-based outpatient conditions and anorectal diseases in general are often poorly understood. This disease spectrum is frequently glossed over in surgical training programs. Most surgical trainees today have limited access to the outpatient office setting, especially within the confines of the restricted working hours of residents. Conditions such as the ones reviewed in this book make up the core of many surgical practices. Therefore, we believe that this book will be useful to all practicing colon and rectal surgeons, general surgeons with an interest in anorectal disease, and particularly those young surgeons just completing their surgical training and starting in practice.

The chapters are listed by condition and include a comprehensive review of the disease entity followed by the available diagnostic modalities and treatment options. The perioperative care is also included in order to provide the reader with a guide to the complete management of these patients. A review of the literature, both classic and new, will help the reader to gain a thorough understanding of each disease process. Prominent authors who have expertise in these areas have been brought together in this effort to bring some simplicity to the treatment of a group of common conditions, which are often ineffectively managed by physicians.

Our hope is that this book will give surgeons the ability to manage the spectrum of diseases encountered in the outpatient setting and make a strong contribution to the welfare of all patients.

The editors are especially thankful to the contributors who have taken time from their busy clinical practices to help in this endeavor and to Elektra McDermott, without whom, this project would not have been possible. We also wish to acknowledge and dedicate this book to our dear children, Ryan and Cory, from whom we have taken much time in the preparation of this project.