Cosmetic Surgery: Principles and Practice

A reviewer of any new surgical text always hopes that many new and promising procedures will be described therein. Unfortunately, these were not found in the present volume. Much of the contents consist of a compilation of previously published works by other authors. The title itself is somewhat misleading since only a small portion of the book deals with purely cosmetic surgery. However, much of it deals with tumor surgery and the reconstructive procedures for correction of traumatic lesions. I fear that if patients carrying surgical insurance benefits apply for allowances, the insurance carriers could use this text as a basis to refuse payments since even the repair of post-traumatic deformities could be considered cosmetic surgery. This book does not offer any great contribution to the specialty of general plastic surgery.