228 B.J. ORAL SURGERY

Pre-Prosthetic Oral and Maxillo-Far Surgery. By "I'HOMAS J, STARSHACK and BP, uc~ SANDm~S, St Louis, Toronto & London; The C. V. Mosby Company, 1980, pp. 351, price s

There is a paucity of books dealing with pre-prosthetic surgery, therefore it is unfortunate that this reviewer cannot be enthusiastic abou~ this updated version of 'Pre-prosthetic Oral Surgery', published in 1971 and now revised, with additional chapters from contributing authors. From the preface we under- stand the book to be written for oral and maxillo-facial surgeons, prosthetists, general dental practitioners, residents, postgraduate and undergraduate dental students. In attempting to cover the subject so that each group will benefit, much. subject matter is included that will bore or irritate the oral surgeon. A reduction in the cost of the book would have been possible had chapters on elementary anatomy and physiology, principles of surgery, dental extractions, minor oral surgery, and the correction of maxillo-mandibular deformities been much reduced in length, or better, omitted, for these subjects are better dealt witi~ in specific text books.

Though the student will benefit from the compilation of surgical techniques under one cover, the would-be surgeon will not find much critical detail included which will help him avoid the problems wtfich accompany every vestibuloplasty technique.

Many of the drawings are helpf, i, but the photographic illustrations are not always successful, and far too many post-operative results are only a few weeks old, instead of a minimum of one or two years.

Greater space could have been allocated to the fast developing techniques of ridge augmentation, though surprisingly, on-lay grafting of the lower border of the mandible is given much prominence when long-term results of the procedure in many centres are disappointing. A helpful chapter on implantable devices is included, but the usefulness of such techniques in tlle British context is reduced by the initial cost of the devices, and the essential need for immaculate oral hygiene, frequent dental examination and highly skilled prosthetic support forever afterwards.

In short, this is a book for an institutional rather than a personal library.

RUSSELL HOPKINS

Reconstruction of theHead and Neck. By MALCOLM A, L~.SAVOV, M.D. Baltimore/Londom Published by Williams and Wilkins, 1981, pp. 333, orice s

This multi-author, American book aims to cover the basics of reconstruction within the head and neck region.,As it is a relatively short work, it makes no pretence at covering individual topics in depth. This is exemplified by the chapter covering surgery of the jaws, which, whilst being well-illustrated with line diagrams, is certainly brief, and would not help the established specialist in that field.

The preface to the book also makes the point that it is not a 'how to do it' book; and so readers wishing to use it as a surgical manual will be disappointed. What then is the value of this new book in a well- established surgical field?

Firstly the book offers chapters covering most of the reconstructive problems encountered in 'he head and neck, by people well-qualified to write about them. Since this, of necessity, spans many specialities, it is always useful io have them combined into one volume, toavoid having to search in more specialised literature.

Secondly, the relativelynewertechniques of free flap transfer based on microvascular anastomosis is briefly covered, together With its surgicalsignificance in reconstruction Of the head and neck~ There is also a useful chapter on reconstruction Of the oral cavity and tongue, from the perspective offulfiiling the functi0nalaspects of the same.

The valueofthis Well-written and illustrated book, will undoubtedly be to give a brief overview to the surgical trainee, of the possibilities in reconstruction, ltwill serve as a reminder that the field is constantly changing and requires a s broad a view aspossible in rehabilitating thediseased patient.

B.M.W. BAILEY