Editors: Tarek M. Shaarawy, PD, MD, MSc; Mark B. Sherwood, FRCP, FRCS, FRCOphth; Roger A. Hitchings, FRCS; FRCOphth; and Jonathan G. Crowston,PhD, FRCOphth, FRANZCO
Publisher: Elsevier Saunders – 1,200 pages (Vol. I – 673 pages; Vol. II – 527 pages)
Book Review by: Nano Khilnani

In 2012, according to Wikipedia, there were 285 million people worldwide that were visually impaired, of which 246 million had low vision, and 39 million were blind. Most of them were in the developing world, and of those, most of them were over the age of 50.

What is glaucoma? Glaucoma refers to a group of eye disorders that cause damage to the optic nerve resulting in partial loss of vision, and in many cases, total loss of vision, or blindness.

Recent statistics are not available on the number of people who have gone blind from glaucoma. But 2002 numbers from the World Health Organization show that almost half (47.9 percent) lost their eyesight due to cataracts. But the No. 2 cause of blindness was glaucoma, with 12.3 percent, or one among every eight blind persons afflicted with this disease.

The other causes of blindness were: age-related macular degeneration, corneal opacification, diabetic retinopathy, childhood blindness, trachoma and onchocerciasis.

This book is most likely the most comprehensive resource worldwide on glaucoma, and the good news it brings us is that research is advancing in this field for the benefit of those afflicted with glaucoma at every level. The other piece of good news is that discoveries in this field can, and are, being shared.

Today we live in a truly interconnected world with unbelievable speed of communication and instant interaction. That is why it is possible to create a massive information product such as this one by collectively working together to tap into, and share the knowledge, experience, and insight of hundreds of people on a given subject.

With the capable leadership and guidance of the four ophthalmology professionals named above, 319 experts on the human eye and related subjects from 32 countries authored the 128 chapters of this massive two-volume textbook.

The authors hail from: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of China), Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Lebanon, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, the United Kingdom (including Scotland and Wales), and the United States.

The chapters are organized into 18 sections. Volume I has the first eight sections, and volume II has the other ten sections. Here below for your overview is your content outline with the titles of the sections:

  1. Glaucoma: Medical Diagnosis and Therapy
    1. Glaucoma in the World
    2. Pathogenesis
    3. Evaluation of Glaucoma
    4. Types of Glaucoma
    5. Principles of Management
    6. Medical Therapy
    7. Emergency Care Management
    8. New Horizons
  1. Surgical Management
    1. Introduction
    2. Laser Therapy
    3. Trabeculectomy
    4. Modulation of Wound Healing
    5. Nonpenetrating Glaucoma Surgery
    6. Management of Co-Existing Cataract and Glaucoma
    7. Drainage Devices
    8. Surgery for Congenital Glaucoma
    9. Cyclodestructive Procedures
    10. Devices in Development and New Procedures

The contents of this book, like most other Elsevier books, are available online. Enhanced eBooks from Elsevier Publishing for medical professionals are compatible with the PC, Mac, most mobile devices, and eReaders. Expert Consult allows you to browse, search, and interact with this title – online and offline.

To get access to the contents of this book and other information online, first redeem your PIN from the inside front cover of the book. Here’s what you do:

  1. Login or Sign Up at www.ExpertConsult.com
  2. Scratch off the gray stickler on the inside from cover to get your PIN code
  3. Enter PIN into the Redeem a Book Code box at the above website
  4. Click Redeem
  5. Go to My Library

Once you have logged in, these are the innovative features available to you online:

  • Seamless, real-time integration between devices
  • Straightforward navigation and search
  • Notes and highlights sharing with other users through social media
  • Enhanced images with annotations, labels, and hot spots for zooming on specific details*
  • Live streaming video and animations*
  • Self-assessment tools such as questions embedded within the text and multiple-format quizzes. *Some features vary by title

You can get even more valuable information from an allied website – www.ClinicalKey.com.  This search engine of Elsevier Saunders is specially designed for doctors by providing them:

  1. Comprehensive Content – the most current, evidence-based answers available for every medical and surgical specialty
  2. Trusted Answers – content supplied by Elsevier, the world’s leading provider of health and science information
  3. Unrivaled Speed to Answer – faster, more relevant clinical answers, so you can spend less time searching and more time caring for your patients

Here are the main benefits of owning this book:

  • Get all the accuracy, expertise, and dependability you could ask for from leading specialists in six continents, for expert guidance and a fresh understanding of the subject.
  • Develop a thorough, clinically relevant understanding of all aspects of adult and pediatric glaucoma in Volume One, and the latest diagnostic imaging techniques including ultrasound biomicroscopy and optical coherence tomography.
  • Broaden your surgical repertoire with the latest surgical techniques – such as trabeculectomy, gonio-surgery, combined surgeries, and implant procedures – in Volume II
  • Glean all essential, up-to-date, need-to-know information about stem cell research, gene transfer, and implants.
  • Find answers fast thanks to a well-organized, user-friendly full-color layout.
  • Access the complete contents online at Expert Consult.
  • Stay at the forefront of your field with 10 brand new chapters on trending topics including: new surgical approaches such as trabectome and canoplasty; glaucoma implications in cataract and ocular surface disease; and, updates in the costs-effectiveness of medical management.
  • Avoid pitfalls and achieve the best outcomes thanks to more than 40 brand new spotlight commentaries from key leaders providing added insight, tips and pearls of wisdom across varying hot topics and advances in the field.
  • Refine and improve your surgical skills by watching over 50 video clips depicting the latest techniques and procedures including: new trabeculectomy methods, needling, implants, valve complications, and more.
  • Prevent and plan for complications in advance by examining over 1,600 illustrations, photos and graphics (1,250 in color) capturing essential diagnostics techniques, imaging methods and surgical approaches.
  • Grasp each procedure and review key steps quickly with chapter summary boxes that provide at-a-glance quick comprehension of the key take away points.

This book is truly a monumental work of immense usefulness to ophthalmologists and optometrists, and trainees in eye disease management at all levels. The editors and the 300+ authors of the second edition of this two-volume book deserve kudos for the hard work they put to create this outstanding, authoritative, and comprehensive book.

 

Editors:

Tarek M. Shaarawy, PD, MD, MSc is Privat Docent at the University of Geneva; Consultant Ophthalmologist, and Head of the Glaucoma Sector – Ophthalmology Service in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences at Geneva University Hospitals in Geneva, Switzerland.

Mark B. Sherwood, FRCP, FRCS, FRCOphth is Daniels Professor in the Departments of Ophthalmology and Cell Biology; and Director of the Vision Research Center at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida.

Roger A. Hitchings, FRCS, FRCOphth is Emeritus Professor of Glaucoma and Allied Studies at the University of London; and Consultant Surgeon (retired) at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, United Kingdom.

Jonathan G. Crowston, PhD, FRCOphth, FRANZCO is Ringland Anderson Professor and Head of Ophthalmology at Melbourne University; and Director of the Center for Eye Research Australia in Melbourne, Australia.