Book Reviews

The Lasik Handbook: A Case-Based ApproachEdited by Robert S. Feder, Christopher J. Rapuano.Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. 530 Walnut Street,Philadelphia, PA 19106. 288 pages. Illustrated. Soft-bound. 2006. ISBN 978-0781762083. $79.95.

The Lasik Handbook: A Case-Based Approach is a

227-page text written by 11 distinguished contributors

in the field of cornea and refractive surgery. Edited by

two experts in the field, namely Robert S. Feder and

Christopher J. Rapuano, The Lasik Handbook: A

Case-Based Approach is completely developed around

the case studies illustrated in Chapter 7.

Chapter 1, entitled ‘‘Basic Lasik,’’ is authored by

Robert S. Feder and Anthony Cirino. This chapter

discusses patient evaluation and a myriad of consid-

erations such as psycho-social factors, anatomical

factors, evaluation and risks of surgery. An interest-

ing section regarding surgical planning and the pro-

cedure to be performed is also included.

Chapter 2, entitled ‘‘Equipment,’’ is an important

section in which the authors address the nuances of

the equipment used, starting with the corneal topog-

rapher, and proceeding on to various microkerato-

mes, femtosecond laser and excimer laser. Also

included is a thorough overview of the various types

of excimer lasers that are available including the

Technolas, the VISX, the LADARVision and the

Nidek Excimer Laser Corneal Surgery System.

Chapter 3 is brief and quickly discusses the role of

mytomycin-C in kerato-refractive surgery and the use

of these chemical agents as adjunctive therapy for

excimer laser. Then, Chapter 4 proceeds to deal with

the issue of surgical enhancement for excimer laser.

Limbal relaxing incisions are also discussed as well as

lasik or surface ablation after prior radial keratoto-

my.

Chapter 5, presented by Dr. Christopher J. Rapu-

ano of the Wills Eye Hospital, discusses lasik com-

plications and management. The section covers a

long, well-organized list of important intraoperative

and postoperative complications such as flap mis-

haps, interface debris, limbal bleeding, poor flap dis-

placement, infection, diffuse lamellar keratitis and

pressure-induced stromal keratitis.

Chapter 6 presents alternatives to lasik refractive

surgery and includes a discussion on surface ablation

as well as incisional procedures and thermal proce-

dures such as conductive keratoplasty and Holmium

LTK. Augmentation procedures, such as intrastromal

ring segments, keratophakia and epikeratoplasty, are

briefly discussed. Additionally, there is a brief dis-

cussion of advanced technology intraocular lenses.

As mentioned earlier, Chapter 7 is devoted entirely

to case studies. All 11 contributors were involved with

the creation of this extensive 126-page section. It most

definitely represents the heart of the text presenting 75

cases that explore lasik surgery. The organization of

the chapter is what impressed me most about the

book. The chapter opens with a three-page-long table

entitled ‘‘Pre-operative Planning Index’’ that includes

an alphabetical list of patient characteristics from

‘‘Amblyopia’’ to ‘‘Visual Field Loss.’’ Each topic is

listed with the case number, page number and con-

tributor for the patient characteristic. Most topics

have more than one case study included. Similarly,

the chart found on page 214 entitled ‘‘Intraoperative

and Postoperative Planning Index’’ presents a three-

page patient characteristic list starting with ‘‘Aniso-

metropia’’ and ending with ‘‘Truncated Flap’’ that

also includes the case number, page number and

contributor for easy referencing. I found these

extensive lists to be particularly helpful to enable the

reader to focus on a given patient characteristic.

There is also a chart entitled ‘‘Equipment Index’’

whereby the reader can immediately evaluate cases by

a given laser such as the VISX Custom laser in con-

junction with a given keratome such as the Hansa-

tome. Another chart entitled ‘‘Surgical Plan’’ presents

points that explain the important criteria and issues

Richard J. Fugo, MD, PhD

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for these procedures. All of these superb charts are

well created and provide a tremendous amount of

information at a glance.

The final chapter is focused on self-assessment

testing posing pertinent questions and explaining

correct answers. This is an excellent wrap-up after the

extensive information provided in the text.

In conclusion, The Lasik Handbook: A Case-Based

Approach is a quality textbook with an incredible

amount of organized information making this an ex-

tremely user-friendly manual for Lasik surgery.

Though Lasik is a complicated subject, the editors and

authors have broken the topic into pieces which cre-

ates an easier process by which the reader can integrate

and learn the information. The book�s approach is

masterful and shows careful consideration employed

in generating such a unique and informative text.

Photos and diagrams are well chosen and positioned

within the text to reinforce what is written, while the

charts are not only thorough, but incredibly insightful

and efficient. All in all, The Lasik Handbook: A Case-

Based Approach is an excellent, first-rate text worth

adding to one�s reference library. I would recommend

searching it out at your first opportunity.

Richard J. Fugo, MD

Ophthalmic Photography: RetinalPhotography, Angiography and ElectronicImaging2nd Ed. By Patrick J. Saine, Marshall E. Tyler.Butterworth-Heinemann. 225 Wildwood AvenueWoburn, MA 01801. 398 pages. Illustrated.Softbound. 2001. ISBN 978-0750673723. $165.00.

Ophthalmic Photography: Retinal Photography,

Angiography and Electronic Imaging is a 398-page text

that could be considered a virtual bible for any indi-

vidual interested in retinal imaging. Written by Pat-

rick J. Saine and Marshal E. Tyler, the book is

divided into nine chapters and three appendixes.

Ophthalmic Photography is a comprehensive textbook

presenting various ophthalmic imaging possibilities

and options.

Chapter 1 covers the historical landmarks in the

development of fluorescein angiography along with

the use of colored dyes and their place in eye pho-

tography. Chapter 2 deals with the instrumentation

and technique of fundus photography. The authors

have separated this chapter into two parts. Part one

includes a step-by-step guide for fundus photography,

record keeping strategies as well as a clinical ap-

proach to focusing pointers for the fundus camera.

Part two focuses on pediatric ultra wide-angle imag-

ing and includes topics such as instrumentation,

RetCam Imaging and cleaning of the RetCam lens.

Chapter 3 is a helpful section focused on stereo fun-

dus photography. Chapter 4 is a short, yet interesting

section devoted to fluorescein angiography as well as

indocyanine green. Chapter 5 deals with ocular

angiography and the proper procedure for this tech-

nique. The ophthalmic dark room is addressed in

Chapter 6, which includes information on processing

negative and positive printouts. As we know, film

technology is quickly being replaced by a digital

format. Thus, Chapter 7 addresses the new digital

format and includes a discussion on the history of

video and digital technology along with a thorough

section on scanning laser ophthalmoscopes. Chapter

8 continues this theme with an informative discussion

on ophthalmic photography that includes color fun-

dus photography, retinal and choroidal anatomy,

normal fluorescein angiogram, abnormal fluorescein

angiogram and indocyanine green angiography.

Chapter 9 discusses the generation of descriptive

interpretations of fundus photography and also pre-

sents numerous well-chosen photographs to aide the

reader. Finally, three appendixes round out the text

that include information on abbreviations for the

ophthalmic photographer, professional societies, and

companies interested in ophthalmic photography.

Ophthalmic Photography: Retinal Photography,

Angiography and Electronic Imaging thoroughly cov-

ers the field of fundus photography with accurate

procedures and numerous images. The photographs,

diagrams and charts are well placed and insightful.

Logical organization of this text makes it a pleasure

for the reader and a wealth of information for an

interested party. I would say that anyone with an

interest in fundus photography will find Ophthalmic

Photography: Retinal Photography, Angiography and

Electronic Imaging to be an enchanting journey into

the field of retinal imaging and may consider this text

as a valuable addition to one�s library.

Richard J. Fugo, MD, PhD

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