Comprehensive Review of Reconstructive Surgery

Urologic Surgery

BOOK REVIEW Urologic Surgery Comprehensive Review of Reconstructive Surgery A review of Reconstructive Urologic Surgery Edited by John A. Libertino, MD, St Louis, Mo, Mosby, 694 pages, 1998 [Rev Urol. 1999;1(4):212, 214] T his is the third edition of this authoritative reference on reconstructive urology, last published in 1987. Dr. Libertino, an expert on renal and ureteral reconstruction, has assembled 95 contributing authors, each an expert in his or her respective field. The result is a surgical reference combining a textbook and a surgical atlas that would appeal to the urologic resident and seasoned practitioner alike. In the preface, the stated purpose of this book is to illustrate the “technical aspects of reconstructive urologic surgery.” The editor accomplishes this goal in 694 pages, including over 750 illustrations, and in the process fills a niche unfulfilled by any other textbook on reconstructive surgery. This well-illustrated edition is divided anatomically into 5 organ systems and then further subdivided into specific reconstructive problems or procedures. The book concludes with a comprehensive section on basic principles of reconstruction. 1. Renal Reconstruction is essentially a textbook within a textbook, starting with embryologic and anatomic chapters and then covering all areas of renal reconstruction and transplantation in a readable yet comprehensive fashion. 2. Ureteral Reconstruction has 8 chapters. Coverage includes ureteropelvic junction and proximal ureteral reconstruction, midureteral and distal ureteral reconstruction, and ureteral replacement using ileum. Exceptional chapters on ureteropelvic junction obstruction and ureteral reimplantation will be useful to even the most seasoned practitioners. 3. Bladder Reconstruction contains 8 chapters, including extensive discussion of female incontinence, vesicovaginal fistulas, and bladder replacement. There is a paucity of text in the chapter on surgery of the neurogenic bladder, and illustrations of described procedures are lacking. 4. Urinary Diversions has 13 chapters on the indications for, pre- and postoperative patient care for, and procedural details on urinary diversions. The chapters on the Indiana (ileocecal) pouch, Mitrofanoff principle, complications of urinary diversions, and urinary stomas are particularly informative. The only obvious omission is a chapter dedicated to the currently popular Studer ileal neobladder. 5. Penis and Genitalia and Related Conditions contains 18 chapters that cover the embryology, anatomy, and a number of reconstructive procedures involving the male and female urethra, penis, and testis; male infertility is also discussed. The chapters on infertility, erectile dysfunction, and Peyronie’s disease are very comprehensive and well illustrated. The 2 chapters on urethral strictures, while instructional, could have been more easily divided into posterior and anterior urethral strictures to reduce redundancies and increase the number of procedures described. The chapter on hydroceles and hernias is well done except that it lacks illustrations of discussed reconstructive procedures. 6. Basic Principles of Reconstructive Surgery devotes 7 detailed chapters to the basic principles of reconstructive surgery, including excellent chapters on wound healing, wound closure, nutritional support, microsurgery, flaps and grafts, and appropriate antibiotic use. These chapters will be especially useful to the urologic resident striving to understand the fundamentals of reconstructive surgery and the pre- and postoperative care of urologic patients. The last chapter, on neovaginal reconstruction, though well written, categorically belongs in another section of the book. I found this book to be informative, comprehensive, generously illustrated, extremely readable, and generally devoid continued on page 214 212 REVIEWS IN UROLOGY FALL 1999