Salivary Gland Disorders and Diseases: Diagnosis and Management

I have had the privilege of editing 2 books in my career. The first was published in 2005 and titled Salivary Gland Diseases. It was with considerable interest that I accepted the opportunity to review this text. Editing a book is a labor of love that requires the editor or editors to have (1) a comprehensive and passionate knowledge of the subject matter, (2) an eclectic skilled group of chapter authors, (3) a willingness to rewrite an unconvincing chapter, and (4) a vision of where the field is moving. When these goals are largely accomplished the book comes to life for the reader. Dr. Bradley and Dr. Guntinas-Lichius are both highly regarded, accomplished salivary gland physicians and surgeons. They have edited a comprehensive 486-page volume that is a first edition. To the credit of Thieme Publishers, the book is filled with plentiful relevant color figures and tables. The general layout of the book is striking. It is targeted to practicing otolaryngologists, head and neck surgeons, and oral/maxillofacial surgeons, and can serve as an excellent source for residents in training. The chapter authors are many of the best and brightest of Europe. The surgical photographs are detailed and highly instructive. I particularly appreciated the print space devoted to imaging. No field of medicine has greater histopathologic variation for neoplasms. The histopathologic photomicrographs devoted to benign and malignant neoplasms left one longing for a little more. The book will serve resident physicians extremely well with tried and true surgical approaches. A more expanded coverage of extracapsular dissection, an European initiative, its risks and benefits, for benign neoplasms including pleomorphic adenoma, would have been stimulating for the advanced reader. The book is very strong in regard to all aspects of clinical medicine. My personal preference would have included a more in-depth coverage of general salivary physiology as well as pathogenesis of calculi. I read many of the chapters from beginning to end and found them uniformly of high quality. The editors have done their work skillfully, as demonstrated by the way the chapters interdigitate. This book comprehensively covers nearly all aspects of salivary gland diseases and disorders. Sialendoscopy is a rapidly advancing field with a sharp learning curve. I wanted to read more. The 2 brief sialendoscopic chapters, although classic in their approach, do not fill the wide chasm between transcervical approaches and minimally invasive sialendoscopy. A varied expert instruction and contrasting opinion would help close the gap. Combined transoral/sialendoscopic techniques and ductal cut down approaches beg for more detail. Molecular biology and genetics are portioned nicely. The salivary gland regeneration chapter is well written and of sensible length for most readers. This is an area that needs inspiration to solve xerostomia postradiation, arguably one of the most pressing research areas in the salivary gland domain. I have 4 textbooks in my personal library devoted solely to salivary gland diseases. I am most pleased to own this book edited by Dr. Bradley and Dr. Guntinas-Lichius. It adds timely updates to the previous books, and the quality of the content is excellent. I congratulate the editors for a job well done. Their book has life!