The Internet for Surgeons

Advances in surgery have reached an exponential scale, and the changes of the last decade of the twentieth century have become common prac­ tice. Imagination and foresight are the more visible standards for profes­ sional appointments than ever before. The fiber optic cable, computer, and Internet are the workhorses of this sea-change, and surgeons must master all of them to remain intellectually and technically up-to-date. There can be no better explanation for the genuine need for this book. The transmission of knowledge and technical skills from one generation to another has been a common practice in surgery for nearly 200 years. Past experiences of surgeons have focused upon an understanding of disease states, a prompt diagnosis of a correctable illness and its appropriate evalu­ ation, and most importantly, the technical conduct of an operation, where indicated, to provide relief to and/or cure of the patient. Fascinatingly, this little book tends to fulfill that same role with respect to the newly emerged technology of the Internet, computation, and telemedicine. In essence, this book seeks, and to a remarkable degree, achieves the transmission of both knowledge and technical skill in an easily usable and clearly written format. Jeff W. Allen has provided an educational orientation with which he is familiar, both as a recent pupil and now as a teacher of surgical proce­ dures. This is not unlike the kind of education that has gone on between trainee surgeons and master surgeons around the world. In this case, Dr.