It is a great pleasure to be asked to review this second edition of the Textbook of Surgery of Larynx and Trachea edited by two renowned laryngologists (respected throughout Europe and indeed the world). Both have been stalwart members of the European Laryngological Society since its foundation in 1995, having held the senior executive positions of General Secretary, Treasurer and Biannual Conference President.
The first edition, published in 2010 (not called a ‘Textbook’), contained 18 chapters, 3 of which had sub-chapters, comprising 308 pages. This second edition has been much expanded and updated, and rightly has now been declared a ‘Textbook’, with 35 chapters over 543 pages. It is liberally illustrated with figures (black and white, or coloured), and each chapter is extensively referenced, with citations as recent as 2021. This second edition follows a similar sequence of chapters as its predecessor, but a chapter on benign neoplasms of the adult larynx has been deleted, while chapters on tracheal tumours and exercise-induced laryngeal obstruction have been added. In addition, the chapters on endoscopic surgery, laryngeal papillomatosis and the role of speech therapy have been expanded. The contributors – mainly from the European Laryngological Society and European Head & Neck Society, but also from America and Asia – are experts in the field. This textbook is a valuable resource for ENT trainees and those super-specialising in laryngology, as well as for experienced laryngologists and head and neck surgeons.
The editors highlight, within the preface, that in recent years research into laryngeal anatomy and physiology, technical advances, and pharmacological progress have provided the laryngological community with an abundance of new insights into basic laryngeal functions – including protection of the lower airway during deglutition respiration and voice production – and into therapeutic options. The editors also highlight that modern medical interventions in onco-laryngology, including surgery, have progressed from just cure of tumours to preservation and/or improvement of the physical functions of voice and swallowing.
This reviewer was provided with a hardcover book, which allowed time to comment on the format, including the quality of the print presentation, figures, tables, references, as well as the colour and clarity of the images. The content of information was excellent overall and achieved what the editors promised in their preface. However, inconsistency in and between chapters deserves comment – the use of ‘Key Points’ summarising the chapters, an expectation of all contributors, was called ‘Core Messages’ in two chapters and was completely lacking in one. The figures or illustrations provided, essential for such a publication on laryngeal lesions, had several images that were too dark or too red, and a series of 52 images in Chapter 10 have not been numerated. The clarity was poor and they would have been better replaced by line drawings. A number of images would best be described as ‘cluttered’, and would have benefitted from being enlarged and printed on a single page (Fig 5.12 and Fig 32.8). Several images are obviously from other publications or sources, but have not been acknowledged to the original authors. One cites an author, but not the publication, and the source has not been cited in the references. One author introduced a classification of posterior glottic stenosis (page 237/238), yet does not cite the reference. In another chapter, the font has changed in the listing of the references, and this listing by the various authors is inconsistent, with some including the Digital Object Identifier, while others did not and yet again others had a mixture. I am unsure whether all of the authors read and acted upon the ‘instructions to authors’, and sadly the final submission of the book was not fully managed overall by the supervising editor or typesetter. Could it be that, reviewing an e-book, these observations may be missed, as only a single page or two can be viewed on the screen at a time?
All in all, credit should be given to the editors and the contributors, as well as the publishers, for getting this publication from the authors to the study desk of readers in what seems to have been a short time period. Every budding otolaryngologist and even those considered experienced laryngologists should obtain their own copy of this volume, as there is much clinical practice information contained within, and, if additional information is required, the references, totalling over 1750, can be researched.
This book remains good value for money.
