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Interventional Radiology

Dotter Interventional Institute Oregon Health Sciences University Portland, OR 97201

Edited by Man Chung Han and Jae Hyung Park. Seoul, Korea: Ilchokak, 776 pp., 1999. $175

If you would like to review books for AJR, please send a cover letter stating your interest with a current curriculum vitae to Assistant Editor for Book Reviews, AJR, 101 S. Stratford Rd., Ste. 303, Winston-Salem, NC 27104.

A tendency exists among American physicians to view textbooks authored or edited abroad with suspicion. The names of the authors are unfamiliar, their scientific qualifications unknown, and, thus, the validity of their statements obscure. Trust is further compromised if the text relies heavily on references from foreign language journals that are inaccessible to the reader. In addition, linguistic difficulties may exist: poor translation can ruin an otherwise excellent text. Finally, the equipment and techniques being described may be quite unlike those used or accepted in this country. Potential readers who erroneously believe these problems present in all foreign texts may not take the time to consider Interventional Radiology, edited by Han and Park and published in Seoul, Korea. Such a choice would be unfortunate and would deprive the reader of a unique resource.

In 66 chapters and 776 pages, Interventional Radiology presents a sweeping discussion of the field for which it is named, from chronic venous access to neurointervention. Both vascular and nonvascular interventions are included, with topics as diverse as aortic fenestration and lacrimal duct stenting. Most subjects are covered in great detail, and the entire manuscript is presented in a comprehensive, balanced, well-organized manner, with generally current references from recognized international journals. The list of authors includes a number of luminaries from the interventional radiology community, whose names and institutions will be immediately recognized by the reader. Although the editors and many of the authors are not native speakers of English, the language is generally fluent and clear, free of the stilted sentence construction to which less skilled translators so often fall prey. Illustrations are adequate if perhaps a bit sparse.

The most significant strength of this book is its encyclopedic presentation of transcatheter and percutaneous treatment techniques for primary and metastatic hepatic malignancy. These comprehensive discussions, which include extensive anatomic and physiologic correlations, occupy 10 chapters and 121 pages. (Two other major interventional radiology texts allocate only 10 and 18 pages, respectively, to the subject.) That the authors would have expertise in this area should come as no surprise given the unfortunately high incidence of hepatic malignancy in Asia. What is rather surprising is that percutaneous radiofrequency ablation and cryotherapy treatments are not discussed at all. Nonetheless, the book is an indispensable addition to the library of any interventional radiologist with an interest in hepatic neoplasm.

The text also gives an unusual amount of attention to Takayasu's arteritis. While two comparable American textbooks register only the barest acknowledgment of this condition as a distinct entity, Interventional Radiology dedicates an entire chapter of 19 pages (written by the editors) to percutaneous angioplasty in patients with Takayasu's arteritis. Whether such detail was necessary will, no doubt, be subject to debate among individual physicians. However, among those treating patients with Takayasu-related stenoses, the answer will surely be strongly in the affirmative.

A weakness of the book is its failure to address two of the more important issues facing interventional radiologists today: the de facto withdrawal of urokinase from the market in the United States and the explosive growth of interest in uterine artery embolization as a technique for treating uterine leiomyomata. Unfortunately, thrombolytic therapy discussions in Interventional Radiology focus almost exclusively on urokinase. Alternative thrombolytic agents and mechanical devices are presented in only the most cursory fashion. Thus, the present (and apparently permanent) unavailability of urokinase in this country renders these otherwise excellent presentations essentially useless for American interventionalists. Uterine artery embolization is not discussed at all, even though its current application of interest was preceded by a long history of use in the treatment of gynecologic hemorrhage. Of course, these two issues are of very recent concern, and this omission is shared by other currently available texts. Yet, one wonders why the editors of Interventional Radiology did not seize their opportunity to produce the first major text in the field to incorporate these topics.

In summary, Interventional Radiology presents an excellent balance to other major textbooks in its field. Although it breaks little new ground with regard to "bread-and-butter" interventional work and is perhaps a bit brief in its coverage of some of these topics, it offers perspectives on hepatic malignancy and Takayasu's arteritis that are unparalleled. These diseases, although less common in the rest of the world than in Asia, are nevertheless international entities that are poorly represented in many other texts. Interventional Radiology should not be the only interventional text on one's shelf, but it certainly belongs among the references of any interventional radiologist who treats a broad range of medical diseases.

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This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Andrews, R. T. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Andrews, R. T. Social Bookmarking                      What's this?