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Although I can vouch that the editors are humble, our task was not: to produce a comprehensive text covering all of plastic surgery in a single volume. Grabb and Smith’s Plastic Surgery is now the only single-volume text that attempts such a feat. In fact, the book was based on the belief that with proper editing,
our single volume could contain all the essential information of any multiple-volume text.
The second challenge was to make the book sufficiently new to justify calling it a “new” edition. Of the 93 chapters, over two thirds (64) are completely new, with new authors. The remaining 29 chapters were re-written, in many cases completely. The number of topics covered increased in all areas except Hand, with the largest expansion in the Breast and Cosmetic sections. We grouped ten chapters within a newly titled
section, Congenital Anomalies and Pediatric Plastic Surgery. Every chapter is shorter than its counterpart in the previous edition, and references were limited to 15. Our authors are experts in their fields, and their skills in surgery are equaled by their writing skills. I am grateful that they accepted my editing, some of which was quite deep in my attempts to keep chapters pithy. The downside of a single volume that is comprehensive
enough for examination preparation is its weight! As our senior co-editor Dr. Beasley warned, “It should be light enough to take to bed with you.” In this regard, we may have failed, but we feel comfortable blaming the scope of the field rather than the competence of the editors. The book is intended for medical professionals and trainees at all levels: Practicing plastic surgeons, surgeons in related fields such as Ophthalmology, Otolaryngology, Oral Surgery, Orthopedics and General Surgery, surgery residents in all subspecialties, medical students, physicians assistants, nurses, and nurse practitioners. My thanks to the co-editors, authors,
and & Wilkins, and Dovetail Content Solutions for their contributions
to this worthy endeavor.
Charles H. Thorne, MD
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