ric trauma. There is also a dedicated section on intensive careunit/critical care imaging, not necessarily related to traumaticmechanisms. These chapters provide extra added value to thisalready comprehensive text.

The last chapter is the shortest, but one of the most interest-ing. It constitutes the authors’ predictions as to the future di-rections in the development of trauma imaging. It reiterates themultidisciplinary nature of the trauma team, with the comple-mentary roles played by the trauma surgeon and the radiologist.It touches on the profound changes within trauma surgery thatresulted from better static imaging and the evolution of im-proved dynamic imaging techniques. It also discusses how ra-diologic techniques complement the evolving “damage con-trol” philosophy of trauma care. These complementarymodalities include transcatheter hemostatic techniques and de-layed postresuscitative imaging.

The authors point out that the growing interrelationshipbetween the trauma surgeon and the trauma radiologist hasbeen a driving force of progress in traumatology. In fact, theauthors note that the blurring of the boundaries among thetrauma surgeon, the trauma imager, and the trauma interven-tionalist has led to evolution of what they coined “TraumaMedicine.”

The authors of this book have unparalleled experience in thefield of trauma and critical care radiology. This book is a mustfor radiologists who treat trauma patients in their clinical prac-tices. I also highly recommend the text for surgical residents,general surgeons, or trauma and critical care surgeons who wishto expand their knowledge of trauma and critical care radiology.

STANISLAW STAWICKI, MDDepartment of Surgery

St. Luke’s HospitalBethlehem, Pennsylvaniadoi:10.1016/j.cursur.2004.01.007

Laparoscopic Urologic OncologyCadeddu JA, ed. Totowa, NJ: Humana Press; 2004,366 pp, $135.00.

As stated by the editor of this text, the purpose of LaparoscopicUrologic Oncology is to provide the first comprehensive textbookdedicated to the minimally invasive management of urologiccancers. To that end, this book is a compilation of variousurologic laparoscopic procedures as described by several re-

spected urologists in this minimally invasive field. Most of thisbook is dedicated toward the management of renal cell carci-noma, including the use of transperitoneal, retroperitoneal,hand-assisted, and partial nephrectomy techniques. Minimallyinvasive cryotherapy and radiofrequency ablative techniques arealso described. Other chapters address laparoscopic nephroure-terectomy, retroperitoneal lymph node dissection for testicularmalignancies, adrenal adenoma and carcinoma, prostate cancer,and bladder cancer. The final chapter reviews complicationsincumbent to laparoscopic surgery.

The construct of these chapters is relatively uniform, eachdescribing the surgical technique with relative indications andcontraindications noted. These sections are then followed by adiscussion of results, morbidity, and controversies regarding theparticular procedure. As a whole, the authors should be laudedfor their contributions. The text accomplishes its goal as a solidbasis for understanding and applying laparoscopic techniqueswithin urologic oncology. This is especially true in regard to thecomprehensive review of surgical outcomes. Several chaptersare particularly noteworthy, such as the section on standardlaparoscopic nephrectomy authored by Drs. David I. Lee andRalph V. Clayman. The chapter on hand-assisted nephrectomyauthored by Drs. Patrick S. Lowry and Stephen Y. Nakada isalso well written.

There are several limitations to the text. Some are unavoid-able, given the rapid advances in this field. It is incumbent onthe reader to be aware that the techniques described are contin-ually evolving, as are outcomes data for these procedures. Thetext does contain several typographical errors, a few of which arepertinent to illustrations. Most of the illustrations are excellent,although a number require updating or enlargement. Of par-ticular concern is the complete absence of any description ordiscussion of robotically assisted laparoscopic surgery, espe-cially in relation to prostate cancer. In the interest of being trulycomprehensive in scope, this text should include a chapter onthis technique.

In summary, this book is an asset to anyone interested inlaparoscopic urologic surgery and I recommended it both forthe novice and for the seasoned laparoscopic surgeon.

ERIC MAYER, MDDepartment of Surgery

St. Luke’s HospitalBethlehem, Pennsylvania

doi:10.1016/10.1016/j.cursur.2003.12.003

360 CURRENT SURGERY • Volume 61/Number 4 • July/August 2004