Two leading plastic surgeons, William C. Grabb of the University of Michigan, and James W. Smith of New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, have edited plastic surgery's best bargain of the year. The 43 authors are mostly drawn from the Young Turks of plastic surgery (plus a few barely middle-aged Turks), internationally known for the topics they present.
Every medical student and surgical resident should read part 1, the first tenth of the book, which is a lucidly illustrated, clearly worded guide to the art of cutting, stitching, and grafting skin. Homely lessons which surgeons usually learn from experience have been put into print: catgut sutures in the oral mucosa are notorious for coming untitled—use silk; when long wounds are closed by subcuticular monofilament sutures, pass the suture through the skin every 2 or 3 inches—or suture removal will be a tussle. Recently applied tools, such as wound adhesives and microporous