An Internist s Illustrated Guide To Gast

Few clinical disciplines have been transformed so dramatically by advancements in science and technology as gastrointestinal surgery. To begin with, modern ph- macology has virtually eliminated some kinds of surgery altogether. If one were to take a peek at a typical operating room schedule in a busy hospital of the 1960s, gastrectomies of one kind or another would have constituted a large block of the major surgeries. The advent of effective H2-histamine receptor antagonists and, more + + recently, the H ,K -ATPase (proton pump) inhibitors led to a precipitous decline in those procedures such that they are rarely performed today. Exciting new approaches to treating inflammatory bowel diseases and their complications―such as fistulas― with anticytokine therapy may one day have a similarly profound effect on surgery for this condition as well. Beyond pharmaceutics, advances in imaging techniques have greatly facilitated the identification and characterization of pathology in the gastrointestinal tract in a way that would have been unimaginable only a few years ago. Just to visualize the pancreas in some way was a horrendous task until abdominal ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, or computer tomography made it simple. The fact that the gut is a hollow organ that can be accessed through the mouth, anus, or even through the wall of the abdomen has been fully exploited with fiberoptic endoscopes that can bend around corners with ease and permit surgery to be conducted through them.

In general, primary care providers, family practitioners, and gastroenterologists have a limited knowledge of abdominal surgical operations, the medical aspects of these surgical procedures, and their immediate and late complications. In addition, traditionally, these patients are not followed up by the surgeons and thus, the internist must become familiar with postsurgical problems in order to provide appropriate long-term care. A clear understanding of the concepts that underlie the surgery is crucial for proper management of these patients. In An Internist's Illustrated Guide to Gastrointestinal Surgery, highly experienced physicians describe all of the surgical and laparoscopic procedures now used for the gastrointestinal (GI) tract in readily understood language, complete with clear illustrations of the various surgeries, discussions of accompanying anatomical and physiological changes, advice on medical management of the postsurgical patient, and medical pearls. Topics range from esophageal and gastric surgery to abdominal hernia, from small and large bowel procedures to hepatic, biliary, pancreatic, aortic, and peritoneal operations. The authors compare alternative operations, discuss medical management issues, and examine the relative costs of these surgical procedures and operations. Detailed artist-rendered illustrations of GI anatomy before and after surgery and, where appropriate, radiological images before and after surgery, are also presented.
Authoritative yet easy-to-read, An Internist's Illustrated Guide to Gastrointestinal Surgery offers today's nonsurgically trained physicians a unique book covering the concepts and practices that underlie gastrointestinal surgery-including laparoscopic surgery-that are crucial to today's best management of their patients.