| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
Book Reviews |
This is a two-volume set of atlases produced by Salyer and Bardach covering the principles of planning and performing surgical correction in patients presenting with craniofacial, and cleft lip and palate problems. Volume 1 deals specifically with craniofacial issues, while Volume 2 covers the surgical management of cleft lip and palate.
May I say at the outset that both books are beautifully presented with excellent colour diagrams, drawings and photographs of case studies. In many ways it was Volume 1 that this reader found of greatest interest since it covered a topic area in which I still have much to learn, in spite of being involved in a craniofacial clinic for a number of years.
In the volume covering the topic of craniofacial surgery there is an initial chapter dealing with basic surgical techniques including the principles of surgery in the whole of the craniofacial complex. In the second chapter the specifics of surgery for craniosynostosis are dealt with. These are well explained and illustrated such that any postgraduate student in a speciality other than maxillofacial surgery could understand the current surgical concepts and principles within this area of expertise. Diagnostic techniques and specific patient treatments are discussed towards the end of these chapters. Indeed, this type of approach to the subject matter is followed in the rest of this volume. Later chapters cover topics such as the latest surgical regimes for cranial and facial deformities, nasal and orbital deformity management and the treatment of patients presenting with hypertelorism. Two full chapters are given to maxillary and mandibular surgery with special attention being paid to the applications in patients presenting with identifiable syndromes. I was pleased to see covered within this area the problems of timing treatment in these types of cases. Of particular interest is the discussion of the application of simultaneous multi-level Le Fort osteotomies. These are complex procedures to perform accurately and correctly and they require a lot of planning both from the surgical, orthodontic, and other aspects of treatment in the different specialities. However, such approaches are required on occasion so a description of the potential technical difficulties is appropriate.
It was good to see that there is also a section on the method and application of distraction osteogenesis, since this is becoming an important method of treatment in a number of craniofacial problems, particularly where significant asymmetry is involved.
Towards the end of Volume 1 there is a chapter looking at surgical approaches to the specific syndromes that one comes across regularly on craniofacial joint clinics. Within this area the need for a multi-disciplinary approach is recognized, including the role of the orthodontist. Having said that, these are not books where there is a great deal of discussion weighing the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches; this is the weakness of the diagrammatic/atlas approach. The concluding section of this volume covers the principles of posttraumatic and post-tumour removal, reconstructive surgery.
Volume 2 covers the area of surgery and repair in patients with cleft lip and palate. I would tentatively suggest this volume covers more traditional territory. In Volume 2 there are more contributing authors, including a number of well known surgeons that have worked in this area for a number of years. The layout and approach, although having been organized by a different editor, is similar to Volume 1 and deals competently with the various aspects of surgical management. There are chapters covering surgery on primary and secondary, unilateral and bilateral, lip and nasal deformities with a further chapter specific to cleft palate repair. Consideration is also given to the later surgery that might need to be performed on patients who have had a cleft lip and palate repaired, including the pharyngoplasty procedure and the orthognathic correction of skeletal deformities. Certainly, this volume is informative and educational and covers most of the main areas of debate with good descriptions of the different techniques, well supported by colour drawings and diagrams. Having said that, I did not find Volume 2 to be quite as interesting or, dare I say, ‘cutting-edge’ as the previous volume.
Having said that, both volumes are beautifully produced, lavishly illustrated, and are bound to be popular with maxillofacial surgeons, whether they are working in these specific areas or not. It is very much ‘a how to do it’ technical approach to these conditions, but this means that the types of surgical treatment and a accompanying procedures that are followed in these patients are quite easy to understand by clinicians working in other, although related specialties.
Certainly, both books will be of interest to any orthodontist who is working in these fields, but more particularly will be useful to postgraduates and orthodontic trainees where there is not always good up-to-date information on these treatment techniques, particularly in the area of craniofacial deformity and its management. I would recommend this book for these latter groups and certainly believe that it would be a useful adjunct to any library linked to an orthodontic unit.
Notes
Volume 1: Craniofacial Surgery, Kenneth E. Salyer (Ed.)
Volume 2:Cleft Lip and Palate Surgery, Janusz Bardach (Ed.), Lippincott-Raven, 1999, £279
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
