Difficult Decisions in Thoracic Surgery

The second edition of Difficult Decisions in Thoracic Surgery: An Evidence- Based Approach addresses the growing complexity of decision making in thoracic surgery. More than half of the clinical questions posed in this book are new, and of the questions that remain as holdovers from the previous edition, virtually all have been revised and updated. As new technology is introduced, physicians from nonsurgical specialties offer alternative and competing therapies for what was once the exclusive province of the thoracic surgeon. In addition, there is increasing knowledge regarding the efficacy of traditional thoracic surgical therapies. How to select among these varied and complex approaches is becoming increasingly difficult. Concise chapters are devoted to one or two specific questions, or decisions, in general thoracic surgery that are difficult or controversial. The authors identify relevant publications in their selected topics, grade the quality of the evidence offered by those reports, apply that knowledge to objective management recommendations in an idealized world, and then comment on how they personally use the information in their own clinical practices. The book is a valuable reference source for practicing surgeons, surgeons in training, and educators.

Mark K. Ferguson, MD is Professor of Surgery at University of Chicago Medical Center. He specializes in the surgical management of diseases of the lungs and esophagus. He is experienced in all techniques of lung and esophageal resection, and is skilled in surgical methods to relieve airway obstruction and malignant pleural effusions. He has served on the boards and committees of numerous national societies and institutions including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Ferguson is the author of more than 75 chapters in medical textbooks. He has edited or written books on esophageal reconstructive surgery, failed anti-reflux therapy, and decision-making in thoracic surgery. He recently authored an atlas of general thoracic surgery. Dr. Ferguson has also written more than 175 papers in medical journals, and serves as an editor or associate editor for three cardiothoracic surgery journals. His research interests include risk analysis and long-term outcomes after lung resection and esophageal resection.