Abstract
The second edition of ‘Small Animal Surgery Secrets’ runs to 431 pages with over 100 chapters. It maintains a similar format to that of the previous edition; it comprises seven sections covering general concepts, soft tissue surgery, orthopaedic surgery, neurosurgery, oncological surgery, oral surgery, and a review of veterinary surgery as a specialty. Like the first edition, the book is edited by Joseph Harari and has a list of 47 contributors all of whom are based in institutions or private practices in North America. Readers familiar with the first edition will quickly recognise the content and question/answer format of the text. In his introduction to the second edition, Harari states that the information provided in the book will be ‘concise, relevant, and sometimes irreverent’. Exciting stuff, or so I thought, but I was to be disappointed.
The first section covers general concepts of surgery including all the expected topics such as wound healing, control of infection, dressings and coaptation, sutures, surgical stapling, and perioperative nutrition. Generally, these topics are covered well, although not surprisingly there are a number of ‘answers’ that I considered contentious. Inclusion of such material is acceptable, and possibly should be encouraged, as long as it is made clear that there are other alternative viewpoints. Unfortunately, on numerous occasions these alternative views are not discussed or considered. An example of such dogma is to be found in the chapter covering anaesthesia. The question asks, ‘Is pre-emptive anticholingeric administration recommended before α2 agonist administration in the pre-anaesthetic period?’ The answer provided is ‘yes’ without any discussion regarding the incidence of severe hypertension or pulsus alternans that such an action will often induce. This first section also includes an interesting chapter covering the issue of postoperative physical therapy (physiotherapy). Inclusion of such material would have been unheard of 5–10 years ago. Unfortunately, this novel chapter is let down by poor editorial control; many answers are nothing more than long lists with little or no justification or discussion.
The second section covers soft tissue surgery. Again, information that is presented is, in general, acceptable. It is disappointing that a number of subjects were not included. For example, there is no information available for nasal aspergillosis, hiatal herniation or urethral sphincter mechanism incompetence. These are, in my opinion, important omissions that seriously detract from the completeness of the book. I was also concerned about the accuracy of the information provided for the conditions of cricopharyngeal achalasia and oropharyngeal penetrating injuries found in the chapter covering pharyngeal disease.
The next four sections cover the disciplines of orthopaedic surgery, neurosurgery, oncologic surgery and oral surgery. Praise, or criticism, of these sections is to a greater or lesser extent the same as that for the previous section. The last section of the book covers the subject of making a career in veterinary surgery. It discusses the pros and cons of a career in academia, private practice or industry. The two chapters in this section make for an interesting read, especially the information relating the comparative incomes and hours worked for each of the career paths. Despite my interest, I found the purpose of these chapters in a ‘question and answer’ book with a worldwide distribution less than convincing.
This is not a standalone textbook and makes no claim to be so. For the book to be useful, the reader must have at least a final year's undergraduate knowledge of small animal surgery. The synopsis for the book suggests that the authors ‘ask’ and then ‘answer’ a series of key questions that routinely confront the veterinary surgeon on the ‘front lines of veterinary care’. Unfortunately, for the general practitioner on the ‘front line’, I believe the book will be of little use on a day-to-day basis. Although the texts cover the vast majority of surgical conditions seen in general practice, the book will not help the practitioner to make a definitive diagnosis. The manner in which the book has been written also means that each topic lacks important information with regards to the management of even the most commonly encountered conditions.
Therefore, what is the purpose of the book? Harari informs us in his introduction that the format follows the ‘educational and training processes of surgery students, interns and residents’. The book is clearly intended for the student of veterinary surgery, be this the undergraduate student, the surgical intern, or the surgical resident in training. As a revision aid, the book might be considered a useful tool especially for those planning to sit a postgraduate qualification in small animal surgery. For such individuals, the purchase price of £23.99 may represent a good investment. For anyone else, it might be best to borrow the book from a library before making a commitment to purchase it.