IO 4 BRITISH JOURNAL OF ORAL SURGERY

Lehrbuch der Klinlsehen Zahn-, Mund- und Kieferheilkunde. Band I. By OTTO HOFER, ERWIN REICHENBACH, THEO SPRETER VON KREDENSTEIN and EUGEN WANNENMACHER. Leipzig: Johann Ambrosius Barth. Pp. 81o. 1958. Price DM. 52.8o.

This is the second edition of a well-known textbook in the German literature which the authors have decided to publish in two volumes. This review concerns the first of" these, and the authors, who are eminent and distinguished Professors of the Austrian and German Schools of Dental and Oral Surgery, have invoked the assistance of Dr Bergmann who has written chapters dealing with anaesthesia and blood transfusion.

The book is excellently produced and contains 931 illustrations, some of which are in colour. The contents provide a comprehensive survey of current Continental teaching in the German-speaking areas of Europe and include chapters dealing with the general principles of the treatment of wounds; the use of blood and blood substitutes; methods of sterilisation; local and general anaesthesia including neuroleptanalgesia; infections of the head and neck; and the current treatment of spccific infections such as tetanus, tubercul- osis, syphilis, actinomycosis and virus diseases.

A section of the book is devoted to minor oral surgery and covers this subject in a comprehensive manner including the treatment of cysts, oro-antral fistula, diseases of the salivary glands, and derangement of temporomandibular joint function. A further section deals with benign and malignant neoplasms of the jaws in detail, including bone grafting. This is followed by chapters related to the treatment of cleft lip and palate, a subject which, in this sector of Europe, is considered to fall within the province of the oral and maxillo-facial surgeon.

The part of the book which is likely to be of greatest interest to readers of the British Journal of Oral Surgery describes in detail the techniques involved in pre- prosthetic surgery which have been pioneered by the Continental school of oral surgery for so long, but which have only recently been introduced into oral surgical practice in the English-speaking areas of the world. The operations are well illustrated by photographs and line drawings and can be understood with even a minimal knowledge of the German language. The succeeding chapter, which deals with what can literally be translated as 'Surgical Jaw Orthopaedics', follows closely the textbook on this special subject entitled Chirurgische Kieferorthopaedie by Reichenbach, K61e and Briickl (John Ambr. Barth, Leipzig 1965) which has been reviewed previously in this Journal, and the illustrations are taken, with acknowledgement, from this publication.

The chapter on fractures involving the facial skeleton lays heavy emphasis upon the use of arch bars, orthodontic-type appliances and internal skeletal fixation, which is understandable in view of the limited technical facilities available in European maxillo- facial Units. The final chapter embraces the various aspects of radiography and radiology and mention is also made of the use of ultraviolet and short-wave therapy.

Although credit is given to the originators of techniques in the text, there is no list of references in this book, which must limit its value as a source of reference but it may be that the authors are intending to rectify this omission at the conclusion of the second volume.

N. L. ROWE