Surgery for Congenital Heart Defects

The third edition of Surgery for Congenital Heart Defects proves to be a userfriendly and instructive resource that is sure to be of great value to many physicians. While the seasoned surgeon might call upon the text as a reference, even the greenest medical student wades comfortably into the depths of the text and feels empowered by the visual feast that awaits. As in the previous editions, medical illustrator Michael Courtney provides an abundance of impeccably detailed drawings, the quality of which is central to the text and helps set it apart from others in the field. Courtney’s illustrations make the text a pleasure to read, with each illustration of surgical anatomy seemingly imparting depth to the page. Furthermore, the superimposed line drawings onto photos of surgical procedures help the reader internalize the most surgically relevant anatomical landmarks. The color plates of Doppler ultrasound are indispensable, although color images of surgical anatomy are conspicuously lacking. To the extent that conceptualizing cardiac surgery is a visual exercise, the text is without peer. The organization of the text itself, however, is not as predictable as one might hope. The separation of the text into parts I and II, general considerations and surgical procedures, respectively, nicely sets the groundwork for the surgical approaches well in advance of their discussion. Unfortunately, when comparing chapters, the parallel structures one would expect to find are jumbled. For example, the order of presentation of headings, including indications, diagnosis, and anatomy, is not consistent between chapters. To this extent, it becomes readily apparent that the chapters are written by many surgeons, each with their own unique priorities and styles. The text feels more akin to an encyclopedia or a collection of papers than a single, unified textbook. That said, the aforementioned inconsistencies of organization and fluidity are standard fare in the genre and minimally detract from the value of the text. These shortcomings are sufficiently offset by the excellent integration of the figures into the text, which, coupled with the appropriate weighting of outcome measures and analyses of results, makes the text feel manageable. The editors of Surgery for Congenital Heart Defects expertly maintain a balance between the extremes of encyclopedic esoterica and minimalist manuals to produce a text that will prove a cherished resource on the desk of nearly every pediatric cardiac surgeon.