Rhinoplasty: The Experts’ Reference

Review by Miss Claire Hopkins
Guy’s & St. Thomas’ Hospitals, London

This book has been very carefully compiled, with chapters featuring pretty much all the who’s who list in rhinoplasty surgery: Toriumi, Park, Perkins, Daniels and Palma to name a few, alongside a handful of UK surgeons, including Charles East and Julian Rowe-Jones. The coverage of all the different aspects and nuances of rhinoplasty surgery is fantastic and it stands up to the title – this is an excellent reference for those with a good basis of rhinoplasty who are faced with a challenging patient or want to take their practice to the next stage. It is not a book for beginners, and assumes a certain level of expertise.

It is subdivided into sections such as septal surgery (I wish I’d had this a week ago when preparing a lecture – it covers a much neglected area very well), functional rhinoplasty, tip work and complications. I think the sections on revision surgery and ethnic variations are better addressed that any similar ones I have read in comparable textbooks. There is a little repetition between chapters, but, generally, this highlights the subtle nuances of this surgery, with slightly different approaches being presented, so this adds to the book. There is perhaps an over-emphasis on extracorporeal reconstructive approaches to the septum, which in the very expert hands of the authors can achieve excellent results, but which for us mere mortals can be challenging. Almost all of the pictures and diagrams are of the high quality that has become synonymous with the Thieme brand (there are a handful which seem not to relate to the legends, but given that vast number in the book, I think that the copy editor can be forgiven!).

Being critical, there are a few techniques where a short video on an accompanying compact disc would have great added value. For example, I’d be keen to try the turn-in spreader flaps described, but ‘the medial edge is turned in and sutured to the septum’ is probably a lot more challenging than the text suggests. As with many such techniques, a short video imparts far more practical knowledge than text will ever manage. The only other issue is that the section on complications is rather short, and lacking in examples and subsequent solutions. Perhaps this says more about my own practice than the textbook – the authors may indeed be so expert that they no longer get any complications, but for many rhinoplasty surgeons this is one of the most challenging situations we face. I’d be happy to provide plenty of suitable examples for the second edition!

Overall, for £150, I think this is an excellent book, and would highly recommend it to anyone undertaking rhinoplasty in their practice.

Amazon Link: Rhinoplasty: The Experts’ Reference
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