An Internist's Illustrated Guide to Gastrointestinal Surgery

In general, primary care providers, family practitioners, and gastroenterologists have a limited knowledge of abdominal surgical operations, the medical aspects of these surgical procedures, and their immediate and late complications. In addition, traditionally, these patients are not followed up by the surgeons and thus, the internist must become familiar with postsurgical problems in order to provide appropriate long-term care. A clear understanding of the concepts that underlie the surgery is crucial for proper management of these patients. In An Internist's Illustrated Guide to Gastrointestinal Surgery, highly experienced physicians describe all of the surgical and laparoscopic procedures now used for the gastrointestinal (GI) tract in readily understood language, complete with clear illustrations of the various surgeries, discussions of accompanying anatomical and physiological changes, advice on medical management of the postsurgical patient, and medical pearls. Topics range from esophageal and gastric surgery to abdominal hernia, from small and large bowel procedures to hepatic, biliary, pancreatic, aortic, and peritoneal operations. The authors compare alternative operations, discuss medical management issues, and examine the relative costs of these surgical procedures and operations. Detailed artist-rendered illustrations of GI anatomy before and after surgery and, where appropriate, radiological images before and after surgery, are also presented. Authoritative yet easy-to-read, An Internist's Illustrated Guide to Gastrointestinal Surgery offers today's nonsurgically trained physicians a unique book covering the concepts and practices that underlie gastrointestinal surgery-including laparoscopic surgery-that are crucial to today's best management of their patients.