Book Reviews

Edited by David K. Coats, MD

The Retinoscopy Book: An Introductory Manual for Eye Care Professionals, 5th EditionJohn M. Corboy, David J. Norath, Richard Reffner, and Ron Stone. SLACK Incorporated 2003; Thorofare,New Jersey.141 pages with illustrations.$44.95 USD.ISBN 1-55642-623-2Reviewed by Joseph M. Miller, MD, MPH, Tucson AZSynopsis: The 5th edition of this text is an outstanding “teach yourself” tool for learning or improvingskills in retinoscopy.Review: This delightful volume should be kept on hand in a clinic or practice to provide a guide to thenew technician ready to learn the basics of retinoscopy. Now in the fifth revision, this text has the feel ofone that has been improved in response to input from “hands-on” students of retinoscopy. While the textdoes have value for the experienced retinoscopist, including suggestions for performing retinoscopy onthe post-refractive surgery patient, the primary audience will likely be “first timers” who are trying tolearn the basics of the technique prior to working with patients.The text is outstanding for a “teach yourself” audience. If you don’t have a model eye, an illustration andreference for building your own is included. While the illustrations are of good quality, they are static,and without actually working through the procedures of retinoscopy, the inexperienced reader willprobably gain very little until enough experience has been achieved to understand what the is meant by“with motion” or “against motion”. Recognizing this fact, the text is built around the teaching principalthat to learn this skill will require hands on experience, and the benefit of a tutor.The authors of the text provide just such a willing tutor. The style is patient, moves at a pleasant pace,and has interspersed throughout it cartoons to keep things in perspective. Suggestions like “treat childrenwith respect, because like grenades, they’re explosive” appear throughout the text. Use of such devices asa skiascopy rack for examination outside the clinic are included.New to this edition are chapters on performing retinoscopy with a minus cylinder phoropter (beginning with aquote from Dr. Copeland of “why would you want to retinoscope with minus cylinders?!”) and a section onperforming retinoscopy on the post-LASIK patient. The advice given to the retinoscopist is to concentrate solelyon the central treated area. Now if we could only teach our LASIK patients to do the same thing!There is not a single formula or equals sign in this text, and none were needed to teach the materialpresented. In summary, this slim (130 pages) text will prove invaluable to the new technician, resident, ormedical student wishing to learn the practical and valuable skill of retinoscopy.

Primary Care of the Posterior Segment, Third EditionLarry J. Alexander, OD. McGraw-Hill Medical Publishing Division, 2002; New York, NY.608 pages with illustrations.$140.00 USD.ISBN 0-07-136476-5Reviewed by Mary Flynn, ODSynopsis: The textbook contains a thorough review of the diagnosis and management of anomalies of thevitreous, retina and optic nerve. Plentiful color photographs, diagnostic and management algorithms, andschematic diagrams are incorporated within comprehensive text.Resource type: TextbookTarget audience: Optometrists, optometry residents and studentsReview: Ideally, new editions of classic textbooks should retain useful information from the previousedition while updating the scope and quality of information contained in the updated version. PrimaryCare of the Posterior Segment does just that. Edited by a respected former educator, lecturer and nowprivate practitioner, Larry J. Alexander, this textbook concentrates on the diagnosis and management ofanomalies of the vitreous, retina, and optic nerve. The third edition meets the editor’s goal of includingupdated management recommendations reflective of recently published scientific literature while avoiding

“information overload.” Unique to this edition is the contribution of 5 private practitioners to provideemphasis on diagnosis and management from “doctors in the trenches.”The textbook is divided into 7 chapters preceded by two indexes. The first index is one of “ClinicalPearls.” The number of these highlighted summaries regarding particular conditions has been greatlyexpanded as compared to the previous edition. The second index reflects the addition of “ClinicalDiagnostic and Management Algorithms” to the textbook. These succinct flow charts are a valuablesource of practical management strategies for the practitioner. A significant improvement to the thirdedition is the addition of color photographs placed throughout the text rather than as color plates in aseparate section. These photographs, numbering nearly 300, greatly enhance the written information in amanner not achievable with black and white images. Cross-sectional, clinicopathologic diagrams havebeen retained to provide the reader with a greater understanding of the conditions discussed within thetext. These diagrams are effective in demonstrating the underlying pathology that results in the clinicalpresentation of the disease.Chapter 1 is a review of diagnostic testing, such as fluorescein angiography, ultrasonography, and laboratorytests, pertaining to the diagnosis of posterior pole disease. This chapter has been condensed from the secondchapter of the previous edition. The earlier chapter contained a more comprehensive review of specializedprocedures such as the neutral density filter test, physical diagnostic testing and blood chemistry analyses. Thisloss of material is regrettable as the previous edition provided a handy review of these procedures. However,this information is not unique to this textbook and can be attained elsewhere.Chapter 2, “Ocular Oncology,” is new to this edition. The text reviews benign and malignant tumors, as wellas the phakomatoses, and contains many management algorithms, comparison tables and clinical pearls.Chapter 3, “Exudative and Nonexudative Macular Disorders,” has been expanded to include a significantamount of text devoted to treatment of age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) based on the abundance ofophthalmic research regarding nutritional supplements. In addition, other relevant maculopathies are coveredin detail with the exception of an unexpected omission, hydroxychloroquine retinopathy.Chapter 4, “Congenital and Acquired Anomalies of the Optic Nerve Head,” is greatly enhanced byschematic illustrations that are plentiful throughout the chapter. Chapter 5, the largest chapter in thebook, is a comprehensive review of retinal vascular disorders. This chapter contains a helpful tablesummarizing guidelines for management of diabetic retinopathy based on the recommendations from theEarly Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) and the Diabetic Retinopathy Vitrectomy Study(DRVS). The authors of Chapter 6, William Townsend and Larry Alexander, have effectively covered theanomalies of the vitreous and peripheral retina. The section regarding anatomic variants, complete withcolor photographs, should be most beneficial to the novice student who must differentiate these normalfindings from retinal pathology.Chapter 7 is a review of hereditary retinal and choroidal dystrophies and degenerations. There is a briefdiscussion regarding electrophysiologic testing and a clinical guide to understanding genetics followed bya review of conditions. Unfortunately this chapter also includes debatable “treatment” recommendationsfor retarding the progression of sight loss in retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Presented as fact, this informationmay be misleading to practitioners less familiar with the topic. Nonetheless, the clinical pearls and thedifferential diagnostic algorithms present in this chapter are valuable to anyone needing a quick synopsisof the clinical presentation of the more rare conditions.A convenient appendix of ICD codes has been added. The index is complete although an emphasis ondisease relationships leads to a frustrating search for page numbers. For example, under “optic discedema (ODE)” there is a list of 8 conditions one should refer to. Under the listed conditions, no specificpage numbers are provided for ODE.Overall this newest edition of the textbook is a unique, comprehensive resource for the optometrist andoptometry student. The color photos, updated information, and management algorithms make this avaluable reference for the diagnosis and management of posterior segment disease.

Handbook of Botulinum Toxin Treatment, Second EditionPeter Moore, MB, ChB, MD, FRCP and Markus Naumann, MD. Blackwell Science Ltd, 2003; Oxford, UK.463 pages with illustrations.$150.00 USD.ISBN 0-632-05957-5Reviewed by Michael T. Yen, MD