April 24, 2005

Book Review – Stephen Z. Smith, M.D.

This pleasant paperback succinctly talks to the prospective plastic surgery patient with a factual and kind voice.  Formatted in somewhat of a didactic style, the authors as teachers ask and answer their questions.  Uniformly segmented chapters detail the typical chronology a patient encounters.  Initially the patient has to assess both a need and a means to correct his or her problem.  Selecting and interviewing the doctor takes some learning and the book respectfully addresses these situations and the corollary of paying for the services rendered.  After some definitions of basic techniques, safety issues and the mechanics of getting things done, the authors then direct the rest of the book to the popular procedures including breast reconstruction and augmentation, body contouring,   facial reconstruction and rejuvenation, and the most recent minimally invasive procedures.  Throughout the book the questions seem a natural segue to the next set of concerns, all of which are responded to in a concise but generous way.  This book reads easily and should have a place in introduction of patients to plastic and reconstructive surgery.