Gonzalez LF, Albuquerque FC, McDougall C. Neurointerventional Techniques: Tricks of the Trade. Thieme; 2014; 366 pp; 479 ill; $149.99
This is a worthwhile book, of particular value to residents and fellows training in these techniques. It is comprehensive, covering the technical aspects of essentially all the common neuroendovascular procedures (plus kyphoplasty). It is not a textbook: there are no references and virtually no discussion of the nature the diseases or disorders that are amenable to endovascular therapy. The focus of this book is on the basic technical steps involved in each procedure. It is very well-illustrated, and most of the 65 chapters are excellent.
Each of these 65 chapters is organized in the same manner, with nine sections. The chapters (management of stretched coils, for one) start with a general description of the technique, followed by treatment principles, expectations and potential complications, specific techniques (often with subsections), key uses, alternative techniques, and getting out of trouble. This organization works very well for most topics. The writing is clear and concise. The format is excellent for learning.
The first section deals with access. There are nine chapters that discuss access routes, basic catheterization, and vascular closure devices. The second section is about intracranial aneurysms and is the largest (15 chapters). There are some very good chapters on a wide variety of topics – general principles of coil embolization, management of stretched coils, and intraoperative ruptures, to name a few. Some chapters are not really techniques and therefore do not follow the chapter outline well – treatment of recurrent aneurysms: decision paradigm, for example. These topics are still covered nicely, however. The third section contains two chapters on vasospasm treatment. Section 4 contains 13 chapters on embolization of epistaxis, arteriovenous malformations, fistulas, and tumors. Section 5 covers extracranial vascular disease (10 chapters). Section 6 has two chapters on vertebral body augmentation. Section 7 is on venous diseases (4 chapters related to psuedotumor and sinus thrombosis). Section 8 provides 5 chapters on endovascular stroke treatment and intracranial stenting. Section 9 discusses physiologic testing (4 chapters). Section 10 is a single chapter on pharmacology. Finally, there are two nice, long appendixes on tools (wires, catheters, and device compatibility) and neurophysiologic monitoring.
There is some unevenness. There are sections that are extremely detailed and others that are relatively superficial. The chapter on flow diverters, for example, covers the basics of deployment but skips many of the key details of this very complex procedure. The chapter on retrieval of a dislodged coil, on the other hand, goes into great depth on the management of this uncommon occurrence. Some chapters are also idiosyncratic and reflect personal habits or opinions. For example, the chapter on inferior petrosal sinus sampling is a very nice description of the microcatheter methods for cavernous sinus sampling, but it does not describe the use of 4 or 5 French catheters for sampling of the petrosal sinus. The latter is probably the more widely used technique.
Nothing in this book is inaccurate, however. The chapters cover the spectrum of endovascular neurointerventional practice. With the exception of the 2 chapters on kyphoplasty, there is no description of other common spine interventions such as nerve root blocks or biopsies.
In summary, I found this book to be very easy to read and informative. This book will be a valuable resource for residents and fellows-in-training. I am not aware of a similar collection of detailed descriptions of these techniques.
