Tuberculosis in children

Mr. A. L. d'Abreu is to be congratulated on his achievement in writing this book. Although thoracic surgery has matured, only within the lifetime of many of us, it has quickly assumed a size that makes it a big and difficult task for any one surgeon to present a complete and authoritative account. As well as on the excellence of its contents, Mr. d'Abreu is to be congratulated on the energy and endurance he has displayed. In the preface he states he deliberately selected the words " a practice " rather than " the practice of thoracic sur gery." In this book he has presented his own views, experiences, and practice. The result is a readable book, well illustrated and simple but comprehensive and authorita tive. The weakest part is that on cardiac surgery, but this is understandable, since rapid developments had out distanced the written account by the time the book had been printed and published. No doubt this will be easier to keep up to date in future. There is little to criticize, but a few features need mention. Figure 3.1 is so obvi ously wrong that it is a plain error. The recommendation on page 76 of resection of a com plete rib for routine thoracotomy is not in keeping with the best modern practice, which seeks to conserve the chest wall as much as possible. It is especially undesirable in bronchiectasis, although (p. 171) it is recommended. The " Robert's flap " method of treatment of a chronic empyema is also largely obsolete. One regrets the use of the incorrect term " dorsal lobe " (p. 175) ; this was rejected by the Thoracic Society and the International Committee on bronchial nomenclature several years ago, and its per petuation is a disservice. On page 307 we read that the venous pressure may be " 30-40 c.c. of water," whatever that may mean. There is also a careless use of " x ray " for radiograph. The diagram of resection of a coarctation of the aorta in Figure 16.15 is too unreal to be of help to the surgeon seeking guidance. These criticisms are minor and can all be remedied in the new edition, which will surely soon be needed. R. C. Brock.