Jack W. Love

Progress in Surgery.

Progress in Surgery is a European, and appropriately older counterpart of the more familiar publication, Advances in Surgery . Both are yearly collections of half a dozen monographs on subjects of surgical interest written by acknowledged authorities. The current, seventh volume will be of great interest and value to surgeons in every land. A monograph on thyroid surgery by Heiman from Goteborg, Sweden, is comprehensive and noncontroversial. The history and use of stapling devices in surgery is reviewed in a contribution from Moscow by Guthy and Brundel. Of great interest are the figures for post-pneumonectomy bronchial fistulas in patients with tuberculosis (10.8% in patients with conventional bronchial closures and 7.8% in patients with staple closures of the bronchus). Both figures would be judged inordinately high in the United States. The clinical use of dextran for thromboembolic disease is well discussed by Bygdeman of Stockholm. He presents convincing evidence to suggest

Peripheral Arterial Disease.

This monograph by one of the pioneer vascular surgeons is a most excellent primer of peripheral vascular disease. It is lucidly written, generously referenced, well organized, and illustrated with an abundance of exceptionally clear diagrams, graphs, and photographs. Consideration is given to historical aspects throughout, and separate chapters are devoted to the anatomy, physiology, pathology, and diagnosis of peripheral vascular disease. In subsequent chapters dealing with clinical management, the author expresses personal preference without neglecting other points of view. For instance, in the matter of femoropopliteal reconstruction, the author summarizes arguments and evidence regarding the use of autogenous saphenous vein synthetic grafts for bypass procedures. He declares firmly in favor of the vein while doing full justice to the excellent results with synthetic grafts reported from Houston and Detroit. A concluding chapter on the complications of vascular surgery is especially valuable. An awareness of potential iatrogenic insult must be developed