The principle advantage to this book over other more augmented texts is its conciseness. As a result, the editors are compelled to deliver a more focused approach to the management of kidney cancer. Although the title purports to consider ‘surgical’ techniques only it does in fact cover the range of diagnostic as well as interventional treatments.
Specific features of imaging relating to ‘renal masses’ in general (whether representing an acute myeloid leukaemia or renal cell carcinoma) are covered well including some of the subtleties which aid diagnosis (not least of which relate to enhancement characteristics of chromophobe and papilliary tumours). A little more on the imaging post-intervention (partial nephrectomy or radiofrequency ablation, etc.) might have been useful here (but represents a rather niche market). Both open and robotic partial nephrectomy are covered well and the text provides a lucid description of nephrometry scores. Issues related to ‘clamp’ times are covered in detail but the emphasis on these aspects dates the text a little.
Open and minimally invasive radical nephrectomy chapters offer basic descriptions but offer little more than standard descriptors for the techniques described. The chapters dealing with radiofrequency ablation and cryotherapy will I am sure, provide, a useful addition for those most interested in the field. If I were preparing for the FRCS(Urol) I would invest the time in reading this (small) book rather than the lengthier chapters in certain well-known tomes.
