This multiauthor text is, according to the blurb on the back cover, a
practical, comprehensive, and up-to-date volume that offers "today's
best knowledge on the treatment of nerve injuries" in the upper
extremity. It is, indeed, a quite comprehensive volume, covering nerve
repairs, grafts, conduits, flaps, and other options, including tendon
transfers, with separate sections on compression neuropathies, brachial plexus
surgery, and electrodiagnosis. The text is heavily illustrated with color
figures and superb artwork, but it is no "how-to" atlas. Instead,
each of the twenty-two chapters covers a topic from the perspective of that
author, including, to varying degrees, pathology, relevant anatomy, and
surgical (and on occasion, nonsurgical) techniques, indications, and results.
Most chapters are illustrated with case examples.
In my opinion, the best chapter is the first one, by Lars Dahlin, a Swedish
surgeon-scientist, on the biology of nerve injury and repair. It is an
outstanding, up-to-date review of the subject, covering everything from
cellular signaling to neurophysiology and epidemiology. Other chapters on
nerve conduits and nerve transfers are equally excellent and current.
This book suffers from the usual variable quality and overlap that are
inevitable in a book in which each chapter is written by a different author.
There does not appear to be any specific format or organization for the
chapters. Some are more technical; others cover some basic science as well.
For a book with the word "practical" in the title, I would have
expected more tips and subtle "tricks" from these highly
experienced authors, or at least some highlighting of key points.
About half of the book appears to be targeted to the serious peripheral
nerve surgeon; the rest is appropriate for the trainee or occasional nerve
surgeon. Some chapters, such as the one on the science of nerve injury and
repair, are superbly detailed and on the cutting edge; others, such as the
ones on tendon transfers, compression neuropathies, and electrodiagnostic
testing, are summaries of well-established practices, containing little if any
new information.
The selection of authors was, in my opinion, a lost opportunity. While the
leaders in nerve surgery come from all over the globe, this book is primarily
an American production, with just three chapters by European authors and none
by Asian authors, despite the abundance of cutting-edge brachial plexus
reconstruction, for example, being done in both places.
Despite these limitations, there is much to like about this text. It is
well written and well illustrated, and the pearls, while not as plentiful as
they might have been, are abundant enough to make this a useful addition to
the library of any hand surgeon and to be a valuable reference for any surgeon
who is involved in upper-extremity nerve surgery.