Dermatology: Practical and Conceptual Book Review | Dermatol Pract Concept 2015;5(2):19 97 DERMATOLOGY PRACTICAL & CONCEPTUAL www.derm101.com Review by Christian Lefebvre This is an extremely practical book offered to all clinicians interested in dermatologic surgery. Dr. Hayes proposes an all- inclusive package covering every aspect of an office practice of dermatologic surgery, froflm the design of the operating room and its lighting to technical aspects of surgical interven- tion, be it a simple biopsy or the most complicated operation. The reader is instructed by texts, figures and tables depicting details of the interventions. Perhaps the only addition that might be desirable would be a series of videos showing the main or the most complicated interventions. This could con- ceivably be added to the electronic version of the book, which is the version I used for this review. The style of writing is such that a reader soon feels as if he were in a discussion with the author himself, as if being guided by him—as if looking over his shoulder! Residents completing their formation in dermatology and wishing to practice surgery will find this book most useful. For the prac- ticing dermatologist and dermatologic surgeon, it will deepen surgical knowledge by offering an easily consulted and very complete database. In my personal case, as a general derma- tologist, the reading of this book was a powerful incentive and a good tool to improve my technical skills. Everywhere in the book, one feels that Dr. Hayes masters the subject completely. It is evident that he has extensive experience and that he wants and knows how to share it. Here in Canada, and particularly in the Province of Quebec where I have my practice, dermatologists do mostly basic and simple interventions, relying largely on specialized colleagues, plastic surgeons and/or “Mohs’ surgeons.” Appar- ently the education of dermatologists in Australia includes a larger part of surgery. My question may appear naïve but: Review of Hayes’ Practical Skin Cancer Surgery Christian Lefebvre1, François Milette2 1 Dermatology, Montreal, Canada 2 Centre Hospitalier Pierre-Boucher, Longueuil, Canada Citation: Lefebvre C, Milette F. Review of Hayes’ Practical Skin Cancer Surgery. Dermatol Pract Concept 2015;5(2):19. doi: 10.5826/ dpc.0502a19 Copyright: ©2015 Milette. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Corresponding author: Christian Lefebvre, MD, Dermatology, Montreal QC, Canada. Email: christian.lefebvre7@sympatico.ca Figure 1. Hayes M. Practical Skin Cancer Surgery. Churchill Livingstone: London, 2014. ISBN 9780729539326. 304 pages. do all dermatologists feel capable and self-confident enough to practice all the interventions described by Dr. Hayes in his book? Last, I agree completely with Dr. Hayes when he insists on doing a biopsy before any possibly mutilating surgery. A surprising biopsy result is indeed always possible and a pre- cise diagnosis remains the cornerstone on which to decide the most adequate intervention. In summary, I heartily recommend this book to any prac- titioner interested in dermatological surgery. The subject is ever more important as our ageing population of patients is at more risk every day of developing skin tumors for which treatment is possible and efficient. Even if one does not prac- tice surgery, it is apropos, in order to inform and reassure a patient, to have a precise idea of the situation to which a patient referred to a surgeon will be exposed. Christian Lefebvre Dermatologist Montreal, Canada 98 Book Review | Dermatol Pract Concept 2015;5(2):19 1. Kim YS, Choi DY, Gil YC, et al. The anatomical origin and course of the angular artery regarding its clinical implications. Dermatol Surg 2014 40(10):1070-6. Note from François Milette, MD, Book Review Editor The book review is the complement to Dr. Hayes’ opus reviewed in the preceding issue covering diagnosis and non- surgical treatment of skin cancer. In this second book, the surgical approach to skin cancer therapy is covered exhaus- tively. As a dermatopathologist, I did not feel competent to review this book and am very glad to once again welcome Dr. Lefebvre’s collaboration. Response from Dr. Mileham Hayes I am glad for Dr. Lefebvre’s review and that my book seems to have achieved my objectives, which were not only to pro- vide clear and logical steps, but to identify, “sign-post,” and solve those circumstances where the surgeon is not sure how to proceed. I have subsequently found two omissions from my work. Firstly, I would recommend excising deeper in the glabella area as, for some reasons, BCCs are deeper there in my experience; and secondly, re-excision is mandatory if there is not deep clearance—but observation may suffice if there is lateral involvement. Finally, I also found it gratifying that my practical suspi- cion that “the lateral nasal branch of the facial artery (aka, angular) seems to wind around the base of the lateral ala” (p 208) has now been confirmed. [1]