Endometrical Cancer

THIS volume is the successor to "The Treatment of Burns", the second edition of which was published ten years ago. It has been re-named to emphasise the importance of the team approach which is so vital to the care of the severely burnt patient. The late Curtis Artz, his two co-editors and the other forty contributors are all present or former members of the staff of the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research at the Brooke Army Medical Center in Houston, and the book demonstrates the important part played by that Institute in advancing our understanding of burns and their treatment. Many of the authors are now running major burn centres throughout the United States so that the volume presents up-to-date American practice in burn care. The book is comprehensive and covers most aspects of the subject in considerable detail with contributions by physicians, surgeons, pathologists, nurses, an anaesthetist, a physical therapist and an occupational therapist. It is organized in eight sections, the first of which covers the patho-physiological, metabolic and haematological changes following burning, with an excellent chapter on alterations in pulmonary function and inhalation injury. Succeeding sections deal with early care including replacement therapy, local care of the burn surface and operative care, followed by a section headed Specific Burns. In this a chapter on burns of the face is followed by a short chapter on burns of the upper extremity. No reference is made to the use of plastic bags for dressing hand burns. These, by permitting movement of the digits and use of the hand, are most valuable in maintaining function. The frequency and importance of hand burns would have justified more extensive coverage of the subject and inclusion of information on salvage procedures for the severely damaged hand. This section also includes contributions on Burns in Children, in Geriatric Patients and in Pregnancy, and also on Electrical Injury and on Chemical Burns. Sections on Nursing Care, General Management and on the Development of Burn Centers complete the book. The multiplicity of contributors has lead to considerable overlap and repetition which makes the book somewhat annoying to read. Little reference is made to such important aspects of treatment as re-integration of the burn victim into the community or of industrial rehabilitation. "Burns-A Team Approach" would be a valuable reference book in any unit specializing in the treatment of burns. The fact that each chapter represents the writer's own individual practice and experience and not a 'school solution', makes it less suitable for general use in units caring for only the occasional burn victim. The publishers are to be congratulated on the excellent lay-out and production of the book.