A good surgeon knows how to operate, a better surgeon knows when to operate but the best surgeon knows why not to operate.
Basics of surgery. It is often said that surgery is an art as well as a science. However, a good technical surgeon is also a craftsman. From its very beginning surgery was never a science. Medieval surgery was performed by barbers and therefore by definition a trade. Traditional surgical training was based on learning the teacher's techniques and views. The art of surgery today combines excellence in craftsmanship and scientific rigour.
Basics of surgery is about science, art and craftsmanship. It provides facts and figures about the very basics of surgery as they apply to all surgical specialties. The book presents the evidence-base for methods of knot tying, the choice of suture material and the characteristics of basic surgical instruments such as scissors, scalpels and forceps. Topics such as wound healing, haemostasis and adhesion formation are discussed by internationally recognized experts in their field. In addition, we set out the ideal characteristics and attitude of a surgeon, and describe what it takes to become a good surgeon. Some say that good surgeons are created not made, we discuss this nature versus nurture debate.
The purpose of Basics of surgery is to bring together the available but scattered information in the literature and to fill the gaps that exist in most people's knowledge of the very basics of the surgical trade. The adoption of this knowledge into the daily life of the surgical community is badly needed so that the specialty can make the transition from a traditional craft to a modern evidence-based specialty