Acta Neurochir (Wien) (2007) 149: 975

DOI 10.1007/s00701-007-1235-9

Printed in The Netherlands

Book ReviewHead and neck trauma – an interdisciplinary approach

Ernst A, Herzog M, Seidl R (2006) Georg Thieme Verlag, Stuttgart

New York, 222 pp, Price: £65.00 approx

Many problems facing the neurosurgeon today are not dealt with by

the neurosurgeon in isolation but by a team of clinicians each contribut-

ing to patient care. Problems in medicine are more and more frequently

demanding a multidisciplinary approach, yet most textbooks are very

much an emphasis of what is important to a particular speciality. This

book takes the condition of head and neck trauma and approaches it very

much like the approach required when patients are wheeled in through

the door of the emergency department. The editors come from ENT and

maxillofacial backgrounds but have also recruited three neurosurgeons

to produce a truly multidisciplinary book.

On browsing through the text, one immediately sees that this is not a

collection of unrelated essays written by solicited authors, as many post-

graduated texts are; instead, there is an immediate impression of struc-

ture which invites the reader further. The content of this book has clearly

been decided from the top, so that one is reassured that the major bases

are all covered. The authors have divided the book into three major

sections, Initial Management, Diagnostics and Therapy. All sections are

divided into highly organised and consistent chapters, each of which

boasts clearly laid out images and innumerable diagrams and charts.

There is almost never more than a short paragraph or two on any topic,

even the more complex (surgical management of Le Fort III fractures,

for example). This renders the book very accessible and easy to read.

And because of the multidisciplinary approach, the authors have purpose-

fully limited the text to increase the appeal. As a neurosurgeon I was

particularly attracted to sections on the facial nerve, temporal bone

injuries, orbital fractures and skull base fractures, all of which are brief

but highly readable. However, perhaps the strength of this book is that a

neurosurgeon can also quickly access information on areas not covered

in the speciality specific texts, such as midface fractures, mandibular and

dental injuries, and injuries to the upper airway and oesophagus. A huge

subject is addressed in less than 250 pages, and this inevitably means

that it falls short on detail. The first section on Initial Management is the

shortest and also the weakest, being much more comprehensively and

accurately covered elsewhere. It is a luxury book, not one I would

describe as a core text for ENT, maxfax or neurosurgery but an

excellent overview of the subject and certainly a useful introduction.

It is highly crafted and makes an useful edition to the shelf for any

surgical trainee or consultant with an interest in head and neck

trauma, as well as for those junior trainees wanting to discover the

contribution that different specialities make to the management of

this multidisciplinary problem.

Richard Mannion

Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge

e-mail: richard.mannion@nhs.net