Acute Care Surgery

This is the second edition of a book covering all facets of acute care surgery:
trauma surgery, emergency general surgery, and surgical critical care.

This update provides a thorough overview of clinical management and a rationale for treating problems that an acute care surgeon may encounter on a daily basis.

Practicing acute care surgeons, nonphysician clinicians caring for acute care surgical patients, and all levels of surgical trainees and students would find this book useful.

The book is divided into sections beginning with fundamental principles of acute care surgery, trauma, emergency general surgery, surgical critical care, and, lastly, special topics. The fundamental principles section covers general topics such as resuscitation, nutrition, and operative care relevant to acute care surgery. The trauma portion provides an overview of traumatic injuries and management divided by organ systems. The emergency general surgery section has chapters specific to pathophysiology such as evaluation of the acute abdomen, emergency groin hernia surgery, and nontraumatic vascular emergencies. Surgical critical care is discussed in 10 chapters divided by specific organ system, while the special topics section covers specific academic and administrative considerations not discussed in the preceding sections. The material is organized and flows nicely, making it easy to find topics of interest. Chapters are easy to read, provide an appropriate level of detail, and effectively convey information via many tables, diagrams, photographs, and radiologic images. Each chapter includes an extensive list of references and many chapters include a brief summary at their conclusion. The book ends with a detailed index.

This book can be recommended as an all-encompassing presentation of the various aspects of emergency surgery that otherwise would require multiple books to cover. While presenting a wide range of topics, it should provide more than sufficient detail to satisfy readers. This edition includes several new chapters on surgical rescue, damage control, catheter therapy for hemorrhage, laparoscopy, and thoracoscopy, while other chapters are appropriately updated.
The online version is robust and straightforward to use.

Weighted Numerical Score: 91 - 4 Stars!