Dermatologic Surgery Made Easy (With CD ROM)
Patricia Wong, MD(Stanford University Medical Center)
This is an ambitious little book describing over 30 dermatologic procedures. It covers basic procedures such as cryotherapy and biopsies as well as more complicated procedures such as liposuction, suction blister grafting, and lasers. This update of a 2006 edition contains new chapters on how to perform preoperative evaluations and a CD-ROM demonstrating how to perform various types of surgeries.
The purpose is to provide a one-stop overview of the majority of dermatologic surgical procedures.
The audience is dermatologists.
The book would benefit from more careful editing. For example, the chapter on Botox injections omits the number of units recommended for axillary hyperhidrosis (the number of units is listed as xx) and a diagram that is supposed to indicate the injection sites for administering Botox to treat crow's feet shows a drawing of a face without markings. In attempting to keep the book a compact, portable size, the quality of some of the photographs has been compromised. Some of the photographs are blurry and/or too small to appreciate details. Because the author practices in India, there is an emphasis on how to treat skin of color. Using chemical peels and suction blister grafting for pigmentation disorders are succinctly discussed as are particular precautions one must take to avoid causing a pigmentation problem when performing procedures to correct acne scarring, etc. Ordering information for medical supplies is helpfully listed, but will only be useful for practitioners in India. Nice descriptions outline how to perform suction blister grafting, how to perform chemical peels, and where and where not to perform Botox injections on the face. Tables summarizing and contrasting different modalities for a particular condition are useful. The CD-ROM demonstrates Botox injections and other procedures. (A PC is needed for viewing).
This reference is useful for providing a basic understanding of many dermatologic procedures. The descriptions and strategies for performing the various techniques are clearly presented. For straightforward procedures, such as removing ingrown toenails or administering Botox, readers can follow the instructions outlined. However, despite the detailed discussion on how to perform suction blister grafting for vitiligo or hair transplantation, readers will need more in-depth references. I think the title Dermatologic Surgery Made Easymeans easy to understand, but not necessarily easy to perform. The book does a good job of providing readers with enough information to decide if a procedure is one they are interested in learning and offering to their patients.
