Book Reviews

Elliott Carr Cutler and The Cloning of Surgeons. By Robert M Zollznget Mt Kzsko, NY Futura, 1988 235 pages, $35 00 A few mdtvrduals are tdenttfied as the source of major mfluences m surgical practice for many years during and followmg then careers The tdenttficatron of such a novel, mventne, and usually exemplary surgeon leads to more and more praise At the same time, a number of mdtvtduals who may have accom- plished as much, for one reason or another-often premature mortal- rty-fall to achieve the reputatron and respect that mtght have been Justified by then accomplishments when the raw data and effectiveness of then puptls are studied Thts clearly was Dr Zolhnger’s intent when he wrote this book as a tribute to his chief, Elliott Cutler, the drs- tmgurshed professor of surgery, first at Western Reserve Umverstty m Cleveland and subsequently at the Peter Bent Brtgham Hospital and the Harvard Medical School m Boston

There are three components of the book that are partrcularly enjoy- able The first of these IS the charac- terization of surgical trammg as it existed and occurred m two htgh- quality mstrtutrons m the perrod be- tween the two world wars There are both attitudinal and technical con- stderattons that are approprtate, even when viewed m today’s hght The second main theme 1s the re- markable role that Dr Cutler and many of ha puptls played m our successful acttvtttes m the Europe- an theater of operatrons during World War II How many hundreds and thousands of American sol- diers’ hves were saved and/or reha- bthtated by thetr orgamzattonal, technical, and intellectual accom- plishments simply cannot be esti- mated The tedium, excttement, and pride of accomphshment show their way through m both a tactful and quiet way The thud theme of the book, and the one I found most mformatrve, was the spectfic quotes

from Dr Cutler’s annual reports re- garding the progress and develop- ment of his teaching service at the Harvard Medical School One’s ability to see backward, forward, and the present 1s always a chal- lenge, and m many cases, Dr Cut- ler’s vtston m all dtrecttons exceeded that of his contemporarres as well as his successors

Thts book 1s a great tribute to a great surgeon and, m a way, hts sta- tus as a role model, by a person who has been the leading surgical thmk- er and practitioner of the latter half of this century It 1s an appropriate memorial and will be appreciated not lust by those who knew Dr Cut- ler or worked m the same mstttu- trons, but all who have a sense for the teacher-to-pupil relatronshrp that has so characterized surgery throughout this century

Hiram C Polk, Jr, MD

Edrtor m Chref

Castroesophageal Reflux. Edzted by Glyn G Jamzeson and Andre Duranceau Phzladelphza WB Saunders, I988 296 pages, $49 00 The editors have succeeded m the task they set out m thetr preface, to make this book “as comprehenstve as possible m descrlbmg all aspects of the disease ” Indeed, there 1s no aspect of gastroesophageal reflux disease that 1s not addressed De- spite its comprehensrve nature, however, the book 1s not unduly long and can easily be read m its entirety m a few evenings Its drs- tmct attraction for a physician m the United States 1s that tt 1s edited by two authortttes on esophageal disease from elsewhere Canada and Australia Some of their per- spectives are different than those of many active American mvestiga- tors and are therefore refreshing and sttmulatmg Furthermore, the extensive experience of these edt- tors m dealing with and constdermg problems of the esophagus lends re- habthty and credtbthty to the book All statements are extensively doc-

umented and, m fact, the brbhogra- phy at the end of each chapter 1s one of its strengths and serves to orrent the reader towards relevant source material

This book will be of greater value to a senior resident, a fellow m ad- vanced training, or even a practic- mg physician than to a Junior resr- dent or a medical student as tt 1s not so much a book for the novice as for someone who already has a back- ground m the area This 1s because of the clear attempts of the authors and editors to use an abbreviated style of wrttmg This 1s a wise choice as rt makes the book manageable and readable but will probably re- sult m some difficulty for the more Jumor reader who IS less able to fill m the gaps Of partrcular note are the chapters on the pathophystology of gastroesophageal reflux, whtch are superb and provide the reader wrth a lucrd account of these com- plicated and controversral events

There are a few areas m which the book could have been strength- ened The editors, both of whom are surgeons, participated m the wrrt- mg of nearly every chapter, and all contrrbutmg authors save one are surgeons Not surprtsmgly, there- fore, the dtscussrons of medical therapy of reflux and tts comphca- trons are less complete than the dts- cusstons of surgrcal therapy For ex- ample, the chapter on medical therapy of gastroesophageal reflux 1s 7 pages long whereas the chapter on surgical therapy is 28 pages An- other small crtttcrsm 1s that al- though each chapter has a complete bibliography, most of the references are from 1985 and earlier, suggest- mg that there was a delay between writing and pubhcatton There are a few more recent references, but by and large, the book contains matert- al dated by about 3 years

With these small caveats, I rec- ommend this book with enthusiasm to the resident, fellow, and practrc- mg surgeon who has a specific mter- est m disorders of the esophagus

Alex G LIttie, MD

Reno, Nevada

THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SURGERY VOLUME 157 APRIL 1989 451