Publisher's Synopsis
As cardiac surgery becomes more sophisticated and the health professionals' roles become more specialized, an interdisciplinary approach to patient care is essential. The referring physician, cardiologist, cardiac anaesthesiologist, and cardiac surgeon must all share an understanding of cardiac disease and its treatment options. By nature of their training and daily experience, this information is difficult to obtain. In accessible style, stripped of unnecessary detail, Dr Bojar provides a comprehensive presentation of nearly all cardiac surgical problems, incorporating basic concepts of pathophysiology, indications for surgery, surgical techniques, and anticipated results. Excellent illustrations make even the most complex procedures conceptually obvious, even to the non-surgeon. Topics such as cardiopulmonary bypass and circulatory assist, repair of aortic dissections, thoracic aneurysms, cardiac tumours, and arrhythmia surgery, are covered in a style which makes them comprehensible to the trainee, as well as the practising physician who needs to refresh his/her knowledge of the common as well as the uncommon procedures.