Endocrine Surgery
Introduction Print Section Listen Prior to the late 1800’s, the function of endocrine glands was unknown. Surgeons excised the thyroid gland for severe goiters, but operative mortality was over 40%…
Breast Surgery
Introduction Print Section Listen While breast cancer has been recognized as a disease process since the Egyptians described it in 3000 BC,1 treatment is generally thought to have originated with…
Surgical Critical Care
Introduction Print Section Listen Critical care medicine traces its origins to the Crimean War of the 1850s, when Florence Nightingale designated a separate treatment space for the most severely wounded…
Trauma Surgery
Introduction Print Section Listen Trauma is the oldest surgical subspecialty. Prehistoric evidence demonstrates early techniques for suturing lacerations, performing amputations, and setting fractures. Trephined skulls hint at early surgical attempts…
Finding the Answers
Overview Print Section Listen A comprehensive literature review is essential for understanding and applying evidence-based medicine. This chapter seeks to equip the busy surgeon with a core set of techniques…
How to Read a Journal Article
Introduction Print Section Listen This book intends to equip you with a foundational knowledge of landmark articles in general surgery. The introductory chapter, “Finding Answers,” provides tools with which to…
The Spleen
BACKGROUND Print Section Listen The spleen was regarded by Galen as “an organ of mystery,” by Aristotle as unnecessary, and by Pliny as an organ that might hinder the speed…
Treatment of Hepatic Metastasis
OVERVIEW Print Section Listen Hepatic metastases to the liver are significantly more common than primary liver malignancy and comprise approximately 90% of hepatic malignancies. Each year, approximately 140,000 new cases…
Portal Hypertension
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Portal hypertension (PHTN) can occur in cirrhotic and noncirrhotic patients and can be classified as presinusoidal or prehepatic (extrahepatic or intrahepatic), sinusoidal or hepatic, or post-sinusoidal…
Choledochal Cyst and Benign Biliary Strictures
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Benign conditions of the intrahepatic or extrahepatic bile ducts can range from focal or diffuse dilatations (choledochal cyst) to obstructive strictures of the biliary tree. Historically,…
