Atlas of Liver Transplantation. Ernesto P. Molmenti, Goran B. Klintmalm. Elsevier Science, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2002, 322 pp., $165.00

Excerpt

This is the first edition of this book. The authors graphically represent the technique of liver transplantation as practiced at Baylor University Medical Center. The senior author is well known as one of the premier liver transplant surgeons in the world, and the techniques he and his co-author present are state of the art. The text that accompanies the line drawings provides the necessary details to help the young surgeon begin to understand the necessity of steps and potential alternatives. The drawings of the surgical procedures are magnificently displayed line drawings that are simple and easy to follow. There are three weaknesses in the operative section of the book. (1) There is very little discussion or illustration of techniques not performed at Baylor. There are no contributions from other technical leaders in the field. One example would be in the aortic conduit section: there is no mention of a supra-celiac aortic conduit (only infra-renal). It would have been of benefit to have this technique described as well. (2) The right lobe living donor hepatectomy is not described or illustrated to the level that would assist surgeons in perfecting this technique. (3) Although the description and seven illustrations of abnormal arterial anatomy are the best I have seen, the normal arterial anatomy of the liver and the abnormal biliary anatomy are not illustrated. …