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Assisting at Surgical Operations

Assisting at Surgical Operations

Assisting at Surgical Operations

A Practical Guide
Comus Whalan, Noarlunga Hospital, Adelaide
August 2006
Available
Paperback
9780521680813
£52.00
GBP
Paperback
USD
eBook

    There are many superb books on how to do operations but there are few or none on how to assist at them, and none written either by or for medical students or doctors. Therefore, the skills that make an expert surgical assistant are difficult to acquire. Normally, they can only be learnt in a haphazard way, by spending years in the operating theatre. This book describes those skills in a concise and systematic way, in surgery in general, and in ten different speciality areas. Although intended mainly for clinical-level medical students and junior doctors, other people who assist at surgical operations, including general practitioners, nurse assistants and surgical technologists, will also find it useful. Whether planning a career in surgery, or simply aiming for high marks in a surgical rotation, there are few better ways to impress a surgeon than by skilfully assisting at surgical operations.

    • Full of information unobtainable elsewhere, except by years of practical experience in the operating theatre
    • Covers principles and skills that are applicable to any surgical operation, so of great practical benefit in most surgical procedures
    • Also has chapters focusing on surgical subspecialities, so even if assisting at complex operations in subspecialities the reader will be prepared

    Reviews & endorsements

    ' … describes general operating theatre conduct with the overall aim of teaching you how to be a good surgical assistant … focuses on the immediate aftermath of the operation, advising on drugs to prescribe post-operatively and how to write a comprehensive but succinct operation note …This book is aimed at medical students and foundation year doctors. It is a valuable read for anyone at this level. A knowledgeable surgical assistant is a delight to a surgeon and will gain a lot of kudos. I would thoroughly recommend it to this group of students and doctors … a good easy read that sets out its information in a clear and logical way with good diagrams and photos.' British Medical Journal

    'Assisting at Surgical Operations deals with all those things you ever wanted to know in the operating theatre but were too afraid to ask. It is an easy to read, humorous guide to the practicalities of surgical assisting - something that is not taught routinely to the undergraduate and often taken for granted in junior surgeons.' British Journal of Surgery

    'This book takes a unique approach to discussing assisting at surgical operations. It makes you feel as though you are there. The 'you' in the book, by the way, is likely to be a junior scrub practitioner, inexperienced medical student or junior surgeon … this book could make an impact on your book shelves and provide much scope for discussion in the coffee rooms (and scrub rooms) up and down the country.' Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology

    See more reviews

    Product details

    August 2006
    Paperback
    9780521680813
    224 pages
    228 × 152 × 11 mm
    0.371kg
    47 b/w illus.
    Available

    Table of Contents

    • Foreword Guy Maddern
    • Preface C. Whalan
    • Part I. An Introduction to the Operating Theatre:
    • 1. General conduct in the operating theatre suite C. Whalan
    • 2. Universal precautions C. Whalan
    • 3. Clothing in the operating theatre C. Whalan
    • 4. Personnel: who's who in the operating theatre C. Whalan
    • Part II. The Operation Itself:
    • 5. Preparing for the operation C. Whalan
    • 6. General intra-operative procedures C. Whalan
    • 7. General stages common to all operations C. Whalan
    • 8. Sterility and the 'sterile zone' C. Whalan
    • 9. Tissue planes, traction and counter-traction C. Whalan
    • 10. Surgical instruments: their names and how to use them C. Whalan
    • Part III. Assisting at Special Types of Surgery:
    • 11. Cardiothoracic surgery C. Jurisevic
    • 12. Laparoscopic surgery C. Whalan
    • 13. Neurosurgery A. Abou-Hamden and S. Santoreneos
    • 14. Obstetric and gynaecological surgery A. Swart and E. Atkinson
    • 15. Ophthalmic surgery G. Fraenkel
    • 16. Orthopaedic surgery J. Van Essen
    • 17. Otorhinolaryngology-head and neck surgery R. Douglas and Peter-John Wormald
    • 18. Paediatric surgery C. Kirby
    • 19. Plastic surgery and microsurgery G. Offer
    • 20. Surgery in difficult circumstances: (1) Rural hospitals M. Bruening
    • 21. Surgery in difficult circumstances: (2) undeveloped countries P. Riddell
    • 22. Vascular surgery: (1) open surgery P. Puckridge
    • 23. Vascular surgery: (2) endovascular surgery K. Phillips and P. Puckridge
    • Part IV. Immediately after the Operation:
    • 24. Immediately after the operation C. Whalan
    • Glossary
    • Suggested further reading
    • Reference
    • Index.
      Contributors
    • Guy Maddern, C. Whalan, C. Jurisevic, A. Abou-Hamden, S. Santoreneos, A. Swart, E. Atkinson, G. Fraenkel, J. Van Essen, R. Douglas, Peter-John Wormald, C. Kirby, G. Offer, M. Bruening, P. Riddell, P. Puckridge, K. Phillips

    • Author
    • Comus Whalan , Noarlunga Health Service

      Dr Comus Whalan is Visiting Surgeon at Noarlunga Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia.