Moshe Schein

“This is a must read for anyone engaged in the care of complex wounds: concise, full of common sense, and devoid of BS.” -- Ari Leppäniemi, Helsinki, Finland The growing number of complex chronic wounds afflicting our aging, sicker, and fatter population has brought about the emergence of the so-called ‘wound care industry’, which, in turn, has become a lucrative business — conducted in thousands of ‘wound care clinics’ mushrooming all around us. A wide range of specialties and qualifications have jumped on the bandwagon to become wound care experts, offering different ‘styles’ of wound care. The dressing, drug, and device industry has joined right in and has flooded the market with immensely costly products, many of which are based on flimsy or fabricated evidence. Undoubtedly, ‘modern’ wound care worldwide is chaotic — compared with most other disciplines and specialties, it could be described as the ‘Wild Wild West’ of patient care. This short monograph attempts to insert common sense into the chaos, emphasizing established truth and pointing out gimmicks, all based on the author’s personal experience. As in the previous books in the series "Schein’s Common Sense" (now in multiple editions and translations), the narrative is ‘no-nonsense’ and not always politically correct. The book is aimed at physicians of all specialties, allied providers, and nurses — anyone who wishes to engage in wound care or is already involved but needs some guidance.

“Moshe Schein’s life as a surgeon on four continents and his skills as a storyteller make for compelling reading.” Abraham Verghese, Author of Cutting for Stone and The Covenant of Water This is a story of a 50-year-long surgical life, across four continents, and numerous hospitals — academic, community, and rural — in a few countries. Unlike the typical memoirs of surgeons, glorifying their accomplishments and paying tribute to our noble profession, this memoir is different: it's not written by a surgical ‘giant’ or a famous scientific innovator; it doesn’t tell the story of a surgical Paganini but rather of a surgical workhorse. It portrays a surgical career in the trenches, as it is, in stark colors, warts and all — topics that others prefer not to write or speak about — complications, malpractice, medical politics, and intrigue. Although ‘surgical’ is its claim to fame, this memoir is aimed not only at surgeons or medical practitioners. Whenever possible, the author portrays events and persons against a background and perspective of the various times and places. The General Surgeon pays tribute to the author's brothers in the trenches — the humble, run-of-the-mill general surgeons worldwide.

Dr. Moshe Schein has previously compiled two books of surgical aphorisms and quotations the first book Aphorisms & Quotations for the Surgeon, with its 1500 quotations, and the slimmer A Companion to Aphorisms & Quotations for the Surgeon. Since their publication, both books have become steady bestsellers. Surgeons use the books to decorate their lectures or manuscripts with relevant smart or entertaining entries; some like to quote from the books during teaching rounds or conferences; many simply enjoy them for their collective and eternal surgical wisdom and wit. Now, as Moshe is drifting towards retirement, here is the last in the trilogy of this international bestselling series The Little Book of Aphorisms & Quotations for the Surgeon. The quotes collected within this little book have been gathered since the publication of the last two books in the series. As before, these aphorisms and quotations are retrieved from multiple sources: journals, books, lectures and, more and more, gathered from surgical friends around the world. The decision to include any entry is based on personal taste. Some would question the wisdom or accuracy of individual entries; others may not get the humor or may object to political incorrectness.

Since Mondors times in the forties of the last century there was no other book in surgery to be written so easy and witty Boris D. Savchuk, World Journal of Surgery This, the fifth edition of Scheins Common Sense Emergency Abdominal Surgery, builds on the reputation of the four previous editions. Already a worldwide benchmark, translated into half a dozen languages, this book guides surgeons logically through the minefields of assessment and management of acute surgical abdominal conditions. Tyro and experienced surgeons alike will benefit from the distilled wisdom contained in these pages. The direct, no-nonsense style gives clear guidance while at the same time providing amusing (or saddening) insights into our collective surgical psyche. Old chapters were revised or rewritten and new chapters have been added, including a completely new colorectal section with its new co-editor. Finally, in an attempt to rejuvenate the book, Danny took over the helm while the aging Moshe was pushed down the line Selected reviews and comments from readers of the previous edition What to say, perhaps the most appropriate medical book ever written. This is written with short punchy chapters making it a very difficult book to put down. By the end I was a total enthusiast this is a text like no other I read Unreservedly recommended to old and young alike. A Must Have Book. I am about to end my chief year in general surgery residency my copy of the first edition shows the wear of half a dozen total read throughs and probably hundreds of referencings... Simply perfect. The best choice in surgery for trainees! It makes the more difficult surgery areas very easy to understand. I recommend it to all surgeons. One of the best books I have read in my life! Must read for all docs out there. But the moral of the book is that if scientific rigorousness (protocols, guidelines, evidence-based) and common sense are at odds, follow common sense.

1. General Philosophy.- Section A: Before the Operation.- 2. The Acute Abdomen.- 3. Rational Diagnostic Procedures.- 4. Who Should Look After the "Acute Abdomen" and Where?.- 5. Optimizing the Patient.- 6. Pre-operative Antibiotics.- 7. Family, Ethics, Informed Consent and Medicolegal Considerations.- Section B: The Operation.- 8. The Incision.- 9. Abdominal Exploration: Finding What Is Wrong.- 10. Peritonitis: Contamination and Infection: Principles of Treatment.- 11. The Intestinal Anastomosis.- 12. Upper Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage.- 13. Perforated Peptic Ulcer.- 14. Acute Pancreatitis.- 15. Acute Cholecystitis.- 16. Acute Cholangitis.- 17. Small Bowel Obstruction.- 18. "Acute" Abdominal Wall Hernias.- 19. Acute Mesenteric Ischemia.- 20. Inflammatory Bowel Disease, .- 21. Colonic Obstruction.- 22. Acute Appendicitis.- 23. Acute Diverticulitis.- 24. Massive Rectal Bleeding.- 25. Gynecological Emergencies.- 26. Penetrating Abdominal Trauma.- 27. Blunt Abdominal Trauma.- 28. The Abdominal Compartment Syndrome.- 29. Abdominal Closure.- 30. Ruptured Abdominal Aneurysm.- Section C: After the Operation.- 31. Nutrition.- 32. Postoperative Antibiotics.- 33. Postoperative Care.- 34. Postoperative Ileus Versus Intestinal Obstruction -.- 35. Intra-abdominal Abscesses.- 36. Abdominal Wall Dehiscence.- 37. Re-laparotomies and Laparostomy for Infection.- 38. LIRS, SIRS, Sepsis, MODS and Tertiary Peritonitis.- 39. Anastomotic Leaks and Fistulas.- 40. Wound Management.- 41. The Role of Laparoscopy.- 42. In the Aftermath and the M & M Meeting.

Source control is the key to the management of surgical infections. Surgical decision making is based on the marriage of evidence from clinical studies, inferences from biology, and the elusive component of surgical experience; this book combines these three elements. We have recruited an international group of authors who are acknowledged leaders in the field of surgical infectious diseases. We have challenged them to integrate evidence with experience and an understanding of biology so as to create overviews that will help the clinician who must make the difficult decisions. And we have kept them honest by asking a second group of equally eminent commentators to provide supporting or alternative views - in essence, to recreate the kind of dialogue that takes place between clinicians discussing a difficult problem. This is THE manual for the authoritative management of surgical infections!