Socratic ENT? | |
ENT Secrets, 2nd ed. Bruce W Jafek and Bruce W Murrow editors. Philadelphia: Hanley & Belfus, 2001 (608 pp). ISBN 1-56053-473-7. |
This is an intriguing title for a paperback of such length, but, of course, it is untrue. The book is one of the Secrets series, which covers many medical specialties and has been updated over the last five years to include references and advances.
The University of Colorado editors gathered 82 authors to write the 88 chapters. They invoke the Socratic spirit in their introduction, but the simple question-and-answer format hardly qualifies as that. Although the questions range extensively, their specific wording can preclude a comprehensive coverage of the topic. There are no references within the body of the text, but an alphabetical bibliography is included at the end of each chapter. Most chapters also contain a "controversy" section. These sections appear to have been written by the editors, as at least one appears in almost identical wording in differently authored chapters. The controversies are sometimes contrived and the issues are rarely canvassed in depth. Overall, the authors express conservative views and there are some contradictions, such as the need for biopsy of a juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma. I was surprised to see cauterisation as a current treatment for aphthous ulcers and that perforation is the commonest complication of oesophagoscopy. The index could be expanded and there are some typographical errors in spelling, spacing and attribution. Surely, the classification of cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx did not originate in a chapter on the vestibular system and its disorders! There is also a reference to arytenoid subluxation, but it is not listed in the complications of direct laryngoscopy. This is a readable, affordable book that could be useful for candidates revising for ENT specialty examinations. Raymond L Carroll
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