Handbook of Venous Disorders, 3rd edn

Abstract

The third edition of the Handbook of Venous Disorders is an essential resource for all who have an interest in venous disease. The first edition in this series was published in 1996 and was the first of its kind for venous disorders. The commitment of the editors of this third edition to continue to collate the evidence base for such diseases and their treatment is to be commended. The book is elegantly printed and its A4 size lends itself well to good production of charts, pictures and scans. The book is in seven sections, each edited by an expert who has drawn together a series of chapters written by a multidisciplinary range of authors. The sections cover the basic considerations of venous disorders: diagnostic evaluations and venous imaging studies, management of acute thrombosis, management of chronic venous disorders, special venous problems, lymphoedema and issues in venous disease. The first section should be mandatory reading for all medical students. All of the chapters featured in previous editions have been updated and there are 12 new ones. An excellent new feature is the final chapter, headed ‘Summary of Guidelines of the American Venous Forum'. Here, the authors, all past presidents of the forum, have collated and critiqued published papers on venous disease and its treatment and created from their review a guide of ‘recommended’ or ‘suggested’ treatments, each backed by the level of evidence currently available to support them. I have found myself dipping into this on a regular basis and, while I recognise that these guides are not set in tablets of stone, they are the most up-to-date currently in press. It is now hard to imagine practice without this resource in the office. In the last 20 years, the advance in understanding of venous disease has developed in depth and breadth. The many unanswered questions about aetiology and treatment of venous disease will continue to challenge the multidisciplinary team for some time to come. The subject is a rich research area for 21stcentury surgeons and physicians and the final section in this book offers a chapter highlighting some of these challenges. This timely edition brings together, therefore, the current knowledge and provides a perfect resource for those embarking on research aswell as for clinicians in everyday practice around the world. I cannot recommend this text too highly.