Hand Surgery is aimed at practising and trainee hand surgeons from both orthopaedic and plastic surgery backgrounds, as well as other therapists who support the delivery of surgical care. Apart from dedicated hand trainees, cross-cover arrangements now mean that other junior doctors may be expected to deal with hand trauma presenting acutely on a ‘need to know, now’ basis.
Hand trauma management, especially in the emergency situation, demands safe clinical decisions, based on adequate knowledge. This need has long been recognised and is especially important now that dedicated senior specialty cover may not always be immediately available.
This comprehensive multi-authored manual also includes contributions from a neurophysiologist and a rheumatologist, and covers a wide spectrum through diagnosis, management and surgical techniques, while also dealing with complications and outcomes. Despite its compact size, it contains over 980 index references, with detailed subsections including rheumatoid arthritis (19 subindexed topics), flaps (over 30) and the wrist (nearly 40).
Physiotherapy regimens, eponyms and classifications are fully and concisely presented in an easily accessible format so that its 18 chapters also serve as a unique, single-volume source for examination revision, though it might have been useful in that regard to have included key references. An introductory anatomy summary would also have been helpful. And it would be churlish to notice that ‘metephyseal’, and ‘trapezioid’ have sneaked past the subeditor.
This excellent volume delivers crucial information and advice, elegantly presented in a practical and trim format. Its 345 grams sit easily in the pocket of a white coat and to adapt a metaphor to recognise the importance of hand function, it punches well above its weight.