The authors have recently published the second edition of their text, Principles and Practice of Surgery of the Colon, Rectum, and Anus. In my opinion, this is the best text book of colon and rectal surgery in print today. The text is known for its easy to read format, abundance of illustrations, and exhaustive list of references. Drs. Gordon and Nivatvongs have now selected specific chapters from their book for inclusion in a separate monograph, focusing on neoplasms of the colon, rectum, and anus.
Chapter 1 deals with benign neoplasms of the colon and rectum and includes sections on common problems, such as adenomatous polyps and familial adenomatous polyposis, and sections on more esoteric nonmalignant lesions of the large bowel, such as hemangiomas and leiomyomas. Chapter 2 discusses screening, surveillance, and follow-up issues.
Chapter 3 focuses on colorectal cancer and includes variable technique tips, as well as discussions on the role of salpingoophorectomy at the time of colon cancer surgery, adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation, and immunotherapy. There is a separate section on obstructing colon cancers, with a description of ontable lavage and primary resection and an excellent table that shows prognostic discriminants, with regard to colon cancer surgery, that range from tumor characteristics to staging, as well as biochemical and special investigations, such as ploidy, allelic loss on chromosome 18Q and 5Q, PCNA expression, etc. The chapter on malignant neoplasms of the rectum is similarly detailed with an in-depth discussion of patterns of disease recurrence and the use of endorectal ultrasound. Chapter 4 also includes a description of colonic J-pouch anal anastomoses, both stapled and hand-sewn, as well as excellent technical descriptions of different types of surgery for rectal cancer.
The chapter on perianal and anal canal neoplasms covers perianal Paget’s disease, Bowen’s disease, and squamous cell carcinoma, among others. Chapter 6 on perianal and transanal surgical resection techniques includes a description of transanal endoscopic microsurgery, as well as posterior approaches. The final chapter on laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer addresses laparoscopic port site recurrence and electrosurgical injury, as well as trocar placement.
Overall, this is an excellent monograph. It is short and very easy to read, with 368 pages and an attractive price of $110. One questions, however, whether the complete text, Principles and Practice of Surgery of the Colon, Rectum, and Anus at approximately $250, isn’t a better value for the money, as one gets a huge amount of supplemental information and an exhaustive reference book on the entire field of colon and rectal surgery for approximately twice the price.
Section of Colon & Rectal Surgery