An introduction to Symptoms and Signs of Surgical Disease, aka 'Browse'
Surgery Book Reviews
(Book reviews are contributed by students and are not necessary reflective of the site creator's opinions)
An introduction to Symptoms and Signs of Surgical Disease, aka 'Browse'
'Another staple of medical students. No comments about this book, except that the cover of the book doesn't look like what is displayed here, as we get the 'International Edition'.'
'Essential book to learn examination techniques, and the basics of how to approach a surgical disorder. Not many alternatives available to learn surgical examination techniques anyway.'
'Its a good read with many colourful pictures. You should use it in conjunction with a main surgery text: Bailey, Burkitts or Scotts.'
'A definite must-have again. Guide to basic history-taking and physical examination for different conditions and also provides some details on certain diseases so it’s quite good in that aspect.'
Short Practice of Surgery, aka 'Bailey and Love'
'This is the 'papa robbins' of surgery (it's really thick!). Unless you really like surgery, maybe you should consider twice before buying this book. I never had the time to read much of my book'
'Very scary at first sight. Handle it carefully lest you drop it and fracture your toe. But it’s really quite an easy read once you get past the “thicko-phobia”. The terminology may be hard to swallow, but once you have picked up some lingo after the first week, it becomes easier to follow what the authors are saying. Also, this is the must-have text for those aspiring to become surgeons.'
'The surgery version of harrison’s. Frankly, its not as formidable as it looks. I eventually survived on this and my tutor’s notes for the duration of my surg posting.'
Essential Surgery - Problems, Diagnosis and Management, aka 'Burkitt'
'This is a good short text for surgery, with many pictures and diagrams. However many claim that it is insufficient. I have found it reasonable so far.'
'Recommended by many people as it is more concise than Bailey and Love. However, I found that it contains too little information to be useful. It is also not a good enough comprehensive summary, but rather focuses too much on certain aspects of the topic, and not enough on the other aspects.'
'It’s highly illustrated and extremely concise. That’s also part of the problem, a bit to concise. I also find it not very organised and somewhat frustrating to read. I eventually gave up on it and started reading bailey and love.'
'Encapsulates the essentials of the different surgical conditions. A good book if you don’t like the heavy material found in Bailey’s (which all surgeons recommend you should get because it is very extensive).'
Lecture Notes in General Surgery
'This book is purely a summary of surgery, and good for a first read.'
'This is useful as a crash course for surgery..you can actually finish reading it!'
Churchill Handbook of Surgery
'Yet another pocketbook, I didn't find this book really useful.'
'I didn’t use it much because I used my PDA programs a lot more instead. But I have friends who swear by it, and it does contain some useful tidbits like “pantaloon hernia” which one surgeon tested us on.'
The Washington Manual Of Surgery
'Although there is really small font, this book is quite useful for the management aspects of surgery.'
Clinical Cases and OSCEs in Surgery
'I didn't use this book, but I've heard that this book is equivalent to the Baliga of Surgery.'