BJS Bookshelf: Schein’s common sense. Emergency abdominal surgery.

The description on the back of this book claims: This is NOT a standard textbook. In fact, it is a compendium of all the logical, safer and more convenient solutions to common problems that emergency surgeons or those scrubbing in an emergency operation can face, as developed by experienced surgeons over their career. The book provides insights on the most frequently encountered issues in acute abdominal surgery, offering distilled wisdom with a direct writing style, supported by self-explanatory and entertaining cartoons. The more recent edition is enriched by the contributions of several editors and authors, who have revised the book to take into account new concepts and modern developments, and have added some newer chapters.

Why surgeons should read it:

Even those surgeons who only perform elective procedures might find themselves in an unexpected situation where they have to face acute abdominal surgical conditions. They will need to take decisions within minutes, which will impact a patient’s life in the long term. The enjoyable style, enriched by the real-life experience of the authors, makes this book a must-read for all surgeons. The constant updates, which the original version has gone through, further contribute to the relevance of this book to current surgical practice.