Essential Surgical Practice: Higher Surgical Training in General Surgery PDF

Preface

This edition is different from the previous ones in many respects. In the first instance I have recruited a new co-editor, Professor George Hanna, a long-term colleague and friend who is deeply committed to surgical training and education and shares my views on the extreme importance of passing on one’s experience and practical clinical knowledge of surgical practice gained over many years to the next generation of surgeons. Between us we have decided to change the structure and content of Essential Surgical Practice directing it exclusively to trainees in higher surgical education in General Surgery. This decision reflects the changed scenario in higher surgical training over the past three decades, with the inevitable progress towards specialization in the various Surgical Specialties. Thus all the Specialty Sections included in previous editions (Neurosurgery Thoracic, Vascular and Urology) have been omitted as these are now distinctly separate from General Surgery, which by consensus includes the rest together with Trauma including Head Injuries

This strategy has allowed us to provide a more detailed account of the various disorders and has enabled us to cover important surgical topics which were either not included in previous editions or were not covered in sufficient depth. We have for this reason recruited new authors, all of whom were carefully selected for their eminence in their respective fields. The 5th edition of Essential Surgical Practice is an almost complete rewrite in view of the considerable progress that has taken place in the past 10 years with respect to both pathology and management of the various surgical disorders. The same basic format of Essential Surgical Practice has been, however, retained, including highlights of core information for revision purposes and quick reference.

The 5th edition is a single volume with two sections: General section, Chapters 1–15, and Specialist general surgery, Chapters 17–31. Essential Surgical Practice will be available in two versions: hard copy and electronic. As with previous editions, both editors have between them written or updated a substantial part of the volume and have taken particular note of all the important recent advances relevant to the subject matter. We have however recruited authors as acknowledged experts for chapters covering topics beyond our clinical expertise, all of whom have provided excellent contributions which required virtually no editing by us

We hope that the 5th edition of Essential Surgical Practice will be well received by the surgical tutors and chiefs of training programmes, and, what is more important to us, that the surgical trainees themselves, irrespective of country, find it a truly useful aid for their surgical education as this has always been our prime objective. Surgical trainees and young consultants are the torch bearers of our profession. In the final analysis, they must always remember that surgery is a craft specialty and that a good surgeon is one who attains fully operating proficiency – nothing less suffices – and, moreover, he or she has the duty of care to his or her patients since technical proficiency and accomplishment are not enough. In essence surgeons are the treatment but the outcome of patients is linked as much to the quality of execution of the operations as to the supportive care which surgeons provide before, during and after surgery

Finally, we would like to thank our publishers for their assistance, support and especially for their forbearance in extending the deadline for completion a few times. We have no valid excuse for this other than our heavy commitments

Alfred Cuschieri

George B. Hanna