Best text for surgery rotation

[socrates89]

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I am interested in going into gen surgey so, wanted to learn it well, so I could do well in my home and away surgical rotations. What is the best surgical text, not review book series for someone of my level. Lawrence seems nice but I feel is a little deficient? But I don't want to go overkill with Schwartz and etc any other options?

 

[schussboarder]

I am interested in going into gen surgey so, wanted to learn it well, so I could do well in my home and away surgical rotations. What is the best surgical text, not review book series for someone of my level. Lawrence seems nice but I feel is a little deficient? But I don't want to go overkill with Schwartz and etc any other options?

I used lawrence and NMS for 3rd yr rotations and they seemed to have worked pretty well. One of the interns at a gen surg program I auditioned at said he still would reference lawrence occasionally...Once I realized I wanted to do gen surg I got a sabistons, however a majority of the chapters are far above my level...its good to reference, but I realized I still need to read the lawrence and nms first in order to get a good foundation.

 

[Bacchus]

I thought Sabiston was easy to read. I used the online version of it.

 

[socrates89]

Its a large text and costs a lot. I don't want to buy it and let it collect dust on a shelf, does it matter if you get an older edition? I can get one from a friend its the 13e (1986) the most recent is 17e (2004)

btw I was randomly looking online and came across Bailey and Love's Short Practice of Surgery any thoughts on this, I know its british how are their surgical textbooks?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bailey-Loves-Short-Practice-Surgery/dp/1444121278/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

 

[Winged Scapula]

While much of the time in your version of the textbook is relatively unchanged, I would strongly advise against getting one that significantly older. A surgical textbook from 1986 will be woefully outdated. This predates the laparoscopic era and thus there will be no information about minimally invasive surgery, breast conservation, medical management of peptic ulcer disease and so on.

Students going into surgery are advised not to purchase a large textbook. Your residency program will have a favorite from which they teach from. The conventional wisdom is that Greenfield is the most difficult and Cameron and Sabiston the easiest; the latter two however presume some background knowledge that students will not have. But they are easier to read.

As noted above, Lawrence is the standard student text and should be sufficient in almost all cases. You'll most likely want to supplement it with Surgical Recall and possibly with a handbook. The Washington manual is decent although I prefer the Mount Reid surgical handbook.

 

[Bacchus]

Its a large text and costs a lot. I don't want to buy it and let it collect dust on a shelf, does it matter if you get an older edition? I can get one from a friend its the 13e (1986) the most recent is 17e (2004)

btw I was randomly looking online and came across Bailey and Love's Short Practice of Surgery any thoughts on this, I know its british how are there surgical textbooks?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bailey-Loves-Short-Practice-Surgery/dp/1444121278/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

I don't think its necessary to buy Sabiston if that's why you're asking me. If its not available online through your library I wouldn't worry about it.

Like WS below, there is some assumed background knowledge so I found myself looking up a few things when I'd read it.

 

[evilbooyaa]

What about for the surgical shelf? I know it's in the surgical shelf exam thread, but that thread is so old and filled with so much clutter, I wonder what those either currently MS3s/MS4s/interns used for the surgery shelf? I know that it is very similar to the medicine shelf (based on many a post)

I've heard of Pestano's/Kaplan, Step Up To Medicine, NMS Surgery, Case Files for Surgery, even Case Files for Medicine being options.

Sorry to hijack, but any other sources out there? I am using surgical recall and up-to-date for the rotation itself so far. I'm not interested in going into surgery so I don't want to buy a legitimate textbook on the field, but I don't want to look like a schmuck.

 

[MEDICALLYHIGH]

If you're truly serious about surgery, you should have already read through Lawrence once after first year or during second year. It's pretty basic stuff and is the minimum to master if you want to impress any attendings on your rotation. I personally recommend finishing Greenfield's during your third year and DEFINITELY before your fourth year if you want to shine for your sub-I/aways.

 

[MEDICALLYHIGH]

What about for the surgical shelf? I know it's in the surgical shelf exam thread, but that thread is so old and filled with so much clutter, I wonder what those either currently MS3s/MS4s/interns used for the surgery shelf? I know that it is very similar to the medicine shelf (based on many a post)

I've heard of Pestano's/Kaplan, Step Up To Medicine, NMS Surgery, Case Files for Surgery, even Case Files for Medicine being options.

Sorry to hijack, but any other sources out there? I am using surgical recall and up-to-date for the rotation itself so far. I'm not interested in going into surgery so I don't want to buy a legitimate textbook on the field, but I don't want to look like a schmuck.

If you're a decent tester, a read through Lawrence should be fine with some questions and Case Files for review. Honestly that should get you at a minimum in the 85+. If you have more trouble, use more sources and review the ones you do use. Third year is when you really need to assess your self-study habits and start improving them for residency.

 

[Kaputt]

What about for the surgical shelf? I know it's in the surgical shelf exam thread, but that thread is so old and filled with so much clutter, I wonder what those either currently MS3s/MS4s/interns used for the surgery shelf? I know that it is very similar to the medicine shelf (based on many a post)

I've heard of Pestano's/Kaplan, Step Up To Medicine, NMS Surgery, Case Files for Surgery, even Case Files for Medicine being options.

Sorry to hijack, but any other sources out there? I am using surgical recall and up-to-date for the rotation itself so far. I'm not interested in going into surgery so I don't want to buy a legitimate textbook on the field, but I don't want to look like a schmuck.

Nix Step Up to Medicine and Case Files for Medicine. Seriously, it's a surgery shelf. Anyone who tells you it's a medicine shelf is exaggerating and likely got 99th percentile on the shelf anyway (everyone on sdn does, fyi).

The magic combo is Pestana + NMS Surgery Casebook + UWorld + solid general medical knowledge and/or NBME test-taking skills. That's all it took for me to get honors (along with being awake and an average retractor) and I hate surgery and hated every minute of my general surgery rotation.

 

[socrates89]

If you're truly serious about surgery, you should have already read through Lawrence once after first year or during second year. It's pretty basic stuff and is the minimum to master if you want to impress any attendings on your rotation. I personally recommend finishing Greenfield's during your third year and DEFINITELY before your fourth year if you want to shine for your sub-I/aways.

I went through it and read reviews online and people said not to buy it since its like a prose, Aren't attendings going to pimp you on questions and wouldn't something like Surgical recall or Washington Manual be good for that.

I was more so asking for a book with many of the common surgical procedure steps listed that I could read up on incase I might get to scrub in and the attending might ask me what do do next or so, Lawrence doesn't seem to have that kind of knowledge

 

[Winged Scapula]

There are tons of books with surgical procedures:

Skandalakis and Skandalakis

Zollinger

Mastery of Surgery

Operative Dictations in (I think its General and Vascular Surgery)

Atlas of General Surgery Techniques

Operative Surgery Manual

to name a few.