Seven years have elapsed since the first edition of this book. Cardiac surgery has expanded during this period, and Keown's book has doubled in size!
The book seems to be directed towards those anesthesiologists and physicians not practicing in a large medical center. The role of the anesthesiologist as a complete physician in evaluating, selecting, and preparing the patient for cardiac surgery is emphasized. Chapters on cardiac catheterization and radiologic diagnoses of heart disease (written by specialists) are included.
The author has devoted adequate space to cardiac diseases that can be surgically treated in community hospitals (viz, chapters on patent ductus arteriosus, coarctation of the aorta, and mitral stenosis). Other chapters in the book frequently refer the reader to the short section by Moffitt and Theye on the use of the Mayo-Gibbon Pump Oxygenator.
The book is designed as a primer. It should be of value to most medical students,