LAUSR

An anthology is defined as a collection of pieces of writing. It represents a flexible format in which the reader can be presented with a variety of new information and opinions, surprising and delighting and stretching the mind in new directions. The use of anthologies in surgical publishing is challenging as the expectation of a surgical audience is usually of a monograph that deals with a defined subject in great detail or a textbook that summarizes the state-of-the-art in any given field. This is an anthology. Its editors, Savio George Barreto from India and John Windsor from New Zealand, have assembled contributions from Australasia, Southeast Asia, India, the Americas and Europe addressing conditions of the pancreas and bile ducts, and much of the book surprises and delights. The first three chapters summarizing anatomy and physiology of the pancreas and biliary tree are excellent and up-to-date reviews of the topic for surgical trainees and practicing surgeons. The section on pancreatic and biliary embryology is particularly current. Equally, the chapters with a clinical focus on gallstone disease, choledochal cysts, portal bilopathy, acute pancreatitis and hilar cholangiocarcinoma are concise and comprehensive summaries. Chapters on chronic pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer and gallbladder cancer are also noteworthy. However, the content struggles within the anthology format. A very good chapter on the management of high-volume biliary fistulae, a condition not often seen in the West, sits awkwardly between chapters on choledochal cysts and benign biliary strictures. There is a degree of repetition of anatomical information in multiple chapters throughout the publication, which could have been addressed with editing and cross-referencing chapters throughout the text – although that is not the way with anthologies, where each piece tends to stand alone rather than a monograph where each part contributes to a whole. There are also issues with content. A chapter on mucinous tumours of the pancreas does not present up-to-date recommendations for radiological surveillance and follow up of cystic lesions (such as the American College of Radiology guidelines), which is a significant part of the work of upper gastrointestinal multidisciplinary meetings worldwide. The chapter of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours is superficial and deals only with the potential role of lymphadenectomy in passing and could have benefited from a tabular presentation of the American Joint Committee on Cancer and the European Neuroendocrine Tumor Society staging systems, so the reader can judge which they prefer. While there is a very good chapter on hilar cholangiocarcinoma, the equally demanding cholangiocarcinomas of the middle and lower thirds of bile duct are not discussed, nor are the rarer bile duct neoplasms such as adenomas and neuroendocrine tumours. There is little mention of dilemmas in the management of sclerosing cholangitis and no mention of ampullary pathology. The focus of the book also wavers at times. It is difficult to separate biliary pathology from the liver, and much of the discussion of the treatment of hilar cholangiocarcinoma and gallbladder cancer, as well as the anatomy and physiology chapters, deal with liver-related issues. However, content is the editors prerogative – not every book needs to be encyclopaedic, and every publication should communicate a little about the authors’ interests and priorities. For the reader, this volume is not a textbook. It does not present a detailed treatment of every surgical condition affecting the bile ducts and pancreas, and it does not claim to. But it does contain some very good examples of surgical writing that present the very best of current surgical thought and practice. For this reason alone, it is worth the modest EUR34 price tag and demonstrates that the anthology format can have a place in the surgical literature.