To the best of my knowledge and after an extensive online search, I was unable to find any other textbooks that so extensively tackle the subject of medical imaging as it relates to plastic surgery in general and certainly none that cover it in such breadth and in such detail.
The text begins with several chapters on the principles of the various imaging modalities including CT, MRI, positron emission tomography (PET-CT), mammography and sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) as well as 3D imaging, thermography, lymphangiography and their clinical applications. Each chapter is succinct and generally well written, illustrated and referenced.
The majority of the book delves into the use of these modalities in preoperative diagnosis, assessment and in the planning of reconstructive procedures by region. The prose is generally very readable, but as ever with large multi-author publications the quality is a little variable. In some areas the detail is sparse whilst in others many readers would find it overbearing. This perspective will of course depend on whether you are a plastic surgeon, radiologist or researcher.
Most of the reconstructive chapters begin with a basic summary of the evolution and principles of reconstruction for that region of the body, which is useful to set the scene but too brief to be a learning tool by itself. The thrust of most chapters however revolves around the strategy for selecting and interpreting appropriate imaging and therein lies the strength of this book. The final chapter touches on the rapidly expanding field of three-dimensional printing and its potential applications in plastic surgery.
The bulk of the illustrations within the book are naturally in black and white but are relevant and of good quality. There are a collection of colour reproductions of appropriately select images located in the centre of the book presumably to save on production costs. The plentiful references appear, on the whole, to be up-to-date. Few will read this book cover to cover but as a general reference, I found it to be very informative and I believe it adequately fills an obvious gap in the plastic surgery library for use by trainees and consultants alike.
