Prestigiacomo CJ. Endovascular Surgical Neuroradiology: Theory and Clinical Practice. Thieme; 2014; 773 pp; 546 ill; $279.99
Ostensibly written for neurointerventionalists, this 773-page multi-authored textbook edited by Drs. Charles Prestigiacomo, E. Jesus Duffis, and Cherag Gandhi should have great appeal to all neuroradiologists, whether they are primarily involved with neurointervention or neurodiagnosis. With the ever increasing endovascular approach to vascular-related abnormalities of the brain, head and neck, and spine, or the high volume of interventions being performed for spine abnormalities, the diagnostic neuroradiologist should have appreciation of what is done for certain lesions and what postprocedural images reveal.
Within eleven sections there are a total of 59 chapters, with over 150 contributing authors, many of whom are neuroradiologists and have been major contributors to our field. As an aside, this reviewer offers appreciation to the three editors, all of whom are neurosurgeons, for bringing into this text innovative neuroradiologists who have contributed mightily to this field. Dr. Prestigiacomo has done a remarkable job in showing how, with this single book as an example, the discipline of neurointervention might be brought together without unproductive turf wars.
The eleven sections are: General Endovascular Tenets (5 chapters); Perioperative Care (5 chapters); Angiographic Fundamentals (8 chapters); Intracranial Aneurysms and Vasospasm (11 chapters); AVMs (3 chapters); Dural AVMs (4 chapters); Lesions of the Head and Neck (5 chapters); Atherosclerotic Disease (5 chapters); Acute Stroke Interventions (5 chapters); Lesions of the Spine (6 chapters); and Additional Endovascular Applications (7 chapters). CME credit (15AMA Category 1) is available by accessing the home study examination at http://wwwaams.org/educationbooks/surgicalendoneuro.asp, based on the large amount of information in this book, which is encyclopedic in content.
This book takes the reader through every aspect of neurointervention and beyond. Besides the obvious topics one would expect in a book of this magnitude, there are subjects one might not anticipate, such as preparing a neuroendovascular suite, planning an associated ICU, developing nursing care, medicolegal considerations, and involvement in training and standards. Additionally, topics on pharmacotherapy, hemostasis, biophysics, and various embolic agents will interest all those in the clinical neurosciences. It was also good to see that the editors included a sizable (85 pages) portion of the book to the spine (an often neglected subject when neurointerventional reviews are published). Covered in this section are chapters on image interpretation for transpedicular and extrapedicular approaches to the vertebral body (excellent information for evaluating surgical films of the lumbar spine); spinal tumors (unfortunately too short and devoid of all but one illustration); spinal vascular diseases (an outstanding chapter with beautiful illustrations — drawings and images — authored by interventionalists who have an enormous experience in this complex area); vertbroplasty; kyphoplasty; and sacroplasty. To this reviewer, the chapter on spinal tumors falls short of the quality seen in other chapters, not because the information is incorrect but, presumably, because of page constraints; there are no illustrations of how tumors (bone and paraspinal) are approached for biopsies or of the associated dangers. After all, if there is a chapter on vertebroplasty there should also be more material on nonvascular spinal tumors. Perhaps in a future edition this material can be included.
When it comes to the individual chapters on specific abnormalities the reader is not burdened with excessive non-essential information but rather is presented with fairly uniformly constructed chapters: Introduction, Anatomy, Pathology/Physiology, Clinical Aspects, Indications for Treatment, Subtypes of the Abnormality under consideration, Appropriate Pre -and Post Treatment Images, and Key Points.
While one learns how a variety of CNS lesions, such as aneurysms of varying complexity, vasospasm, dAVFs, vascular tumors of the head and neck, primary vascular lesions, stroke, venous/sinus thrombosis are approached, it is important to note that much more is included in each chapter. One gains a basic understanding of the disease under consideration, and procedural techniques are described. But this is not a book that shows a step-by-step approach to vascular abnormalities with diagrams. Rather, in general, the chapters talk about patient selections, description of the procedures, selection of the proper material(s), and results. Adequate imaging is shown in virtually all chapters. Interesting topics are tackled, such as endovascular chemotherapy, balloon remodeling in aneurysms, interarterial pharmacotherapy in vasospasm, dealing with high risk patients in angiography, extracranial vascular stenting, treatment of recalcitrant epistaxis, sclerotherapy in vascular lesions (primarily as a preoperative measure), and CVAs (a short summary chapter), among other topics. An potential improvement in the display of this information would be including cartoons showing the vital portion(s) of technically demanding procedures. Within such illustrations, often times, one gains a greater appreciation of the procedure than with radiographic images alone. The editors may wish to consider that in future editions.
To this reviewer, Endovascular Surgical Neuroradiology: Theory and Clinical Practice is excellent in nearly all aspects. The hard work in putting all this material has paid off handsomely. It is a book that should be available to all neuroradiologists (interventional or diagnostic), either as a personal copy or in a departmental library.
