DOI: 10.1097/CCM.0b013e31822d4495
,
Issn Print: 0090-3493
Publication Date: 2011/10/01
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Excerpt
To achieve optimal results in the treatment of the adult cardiac surgery patient, it has become clear that a multidisciplinary approach is the most effective method of management. The care of the adult cardiac surgery patient has evolved into a much more complex venue as the frontiers of advancing the specialty demand more from all the team members involved. Each year, the daunting task of training new team members and keeping the veterans current is on us. If there is a “coach's playbook” for the cardiac surgery team, then Robert M. Bojar's Manual of Perioperative Care in Adult Cardiac Surgery, fifth edition, is it. It is a book that is as applicable to the critical care physician caring for the cardiac patient as it is for the intensive care unit nurses on the front lines. Physicians in training, nurse practitioners, physicians assistants, perfusionists, nurse specialists, and the entire range of healthcare professionals on the cardiac team will find this manual useful.
This manual is written to be easily understandable. It is well-illustrated and covers many topics very well. The chapter on cardiopulmonary bypass is extremely valuable, and Figures 5.8 and 5.9 on pages 239 and 240 are perfect examples. The placement of canulas for cardiopulmonary bypass and the method by which the heart is arrested are common questions that are asked and are not easily understood without illustration. These simple but accurate illustrations are just one example of how readily this book fosters the multidisciplinary interaction. The segment on circulatory assistance is another example. The book is also well-indexed and tabulated, which makes it easy to use.
From the surgeon's perspective, the sections on preoperative considerations are welcome. The ability to prepare a challenging patient for surgery is without a doubt as much of the team's success story as is caring for that patient after surgery.
Throughout the manual it is clear that there is an understanding that the members of the team who care for these patients come from a diverse specialty background. The manual therefore functions as a successful interface between those of us who see things from the surgical perspective with those essential team members whose expertise does not take them into the surgical field. In that regard, it achieves its goal of being an extremely valuable reference.
Surgeons are frequently asked to recommend a text that can be used to guide the care of their patients. This comprehensive text is the standard by which any other text should be judged. Every intensive care unit that treats adult open heart surgery patients should have several copies readily available at all times.
