Practical Laryngology

After publishing two successful books, which have become classic ENT revision texts, Costello has this time collaborated with Sandhu to edit Practical Laryngology. I recently reviewed Sandhu’s Laryngeal and Tracheobronchial Stenosis for The Journal of Laryngology & Otology and really enjoyed it. The idea of them editing this book together piqued my interest and I was not disappointed.

The content is divided into 20 well-written chapters. The contributions are from an excellent group of 30 well-known international authors. The text is effectively complemented by tables, high-resolution coloured images and illustrations. The organisation of chapters is excellent and flows naturally. It is easy to read and well referenced.

In his foreword, Professor David Howard has beautifully summarised the importance of this text and its quality. I was a little unsure as to the target audience after reading the first four chapters on basic science, voice assessment, professional voice users and benign vocal fold lesions. The first chapter is rather too basic. The second, third and fourth chapters are more of an introduction to these topics, and lack detail. The practical aspects suggested by the title are missing in these early chapters. However, from chapter five onwards, it gets better. The reader will enjoy the style, depth of detail and the description of surgical techniques.

At this price, the book is nicely pitched against its competitors (e.g. Clinical Laryngology by Fried and Tan-Geller (Thieme, 2014), written mostly by our North American colleagues).