Principles and Practice of Lasers in Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery

ForewordIn this era's informational paradigm, while pondering the considerations to be penned in this foreword, the relevance of a text such as this emerged progressively as the focal point. After all, for years, one established source for accessing large amounts of valuable information had been the Encyclopaedia Britannica, a printed tome, which is no longer relevant. Instant access to the latest scientific information is freely available to all with an internet. So, what can this text provide that cannot be readily accessed?In contemplating given topics, the Editors, as most certainly occurred in this publication, chose clinical authorities to author chapters in their areas of expertise. The experienced clinician often finds such a forum a unique opportunity to reflect on years of knowledge acquisition and then render an insightful discourse on the lineage of his/her current understanding of the topic. On the other side of the coin, the reader instantly acquires a knowledge base, which was validated with an exhaustive literature search and gains the senior authors' perspective of it. A less experienced author will benefit from thoroughly reviewing the currently available science and technology and moreover, gain experience in scientific writing. In the latter scenario the senior author is at once mentor and expert.Under ordinary circumstances, from the concept outline submission to a publisher, the time line to completion of the text is approximately one and a half to two years. Recruiting and assigning authors, awaiting late manuscript submissions and editing are unquestionably time consuming. Yet a passionate, dedicated Editor will take seemingly varied submissions and script them into a worthy finished product. Such was the case with this publication. The end result is a superbly structured text covering most of the concepts relating to the topic in a format that is both logical and intuitive.At the risk of some redundancy, I share with you my thoughts on some of the significant number of new additions and improvements made to this second edition. The chapter on risk management is a welcome contribution. The rationale for the shift in the current decision tree for laryngeal cancer as it relates to macro versus micro margins, improvements in voice quality and the choice of initial therapeutic considerations are appropriately vetted. The rethinking of HPV associated malignancies is a new and most important addition. Zeitels' presentation of angiolytic lasers for benign and malignant pathology is state of the art. I particularly enjoyed reading about lasers and the association with tropical diseases. The chapters on robotic surgery, non-invasive cartilage reshaping and photo-diagnostics puts the latest technical innovation in our discipline into perspective. The excellent illustrations and photographs are a bonus. There are other areas that could be mentioned e.g. paediatrics, however, the aforementioned has more than adequately established the tenor of the text.n their quest to provide a one-stop knowledge base of a reference quality, it is inescapable that the size of the final proof would surpass the typical numbers of between four and five hundred pages for the hard bound volume. Tightening the text by removing some peripheral material would deprive the book its very objective of a reference quality publication. The obvious solution was to present the work in a set of two volumes, and the editors and the publishers have to be congratulated in achieving this seamlessly. The natural anatomical split provides the reader with a convenience of picking up the volume of relevance for the task at hand.An unusual feature is the inclusion of MCQs after each chapter, to serve as a test for recall of knowledge, the result of which can be assessed simply by going back to the chapter!The Editors and the publishers have exploited the now ubiquitous electronic media network to their advantage. Operating on various platforms a dedicated website will complement the book with updates, operative videos, and means of communication to share the knowledge globally.It was the focus of this brief foreword to explore the relevance of this text in the current informational climate. It provides the essential foundation for informed thought on this topic. Agree or disagree with the information contained within, the reader has acquired the knowledge to be able to do such.With this text you will be rewarded for sitting in your most comfortable chair, thumbing through the pages and sensing the new print. Immediately understood will be the time and effort it took to complete a text of this calibre. Read the chapters first that initially appeal to you and then without question you will read the remainder. This book should be in the library of any serious student of the subject. I feel privileged to have been asked to write the foreword.Marshall Strome