Learning surgery has become a daunting task. Although the basic surgical c- cepts remain durable and unchanged, the past several years have brought rapid growth of new knowledge in all of the surgical disciplines. Some surgical pro- dures have disappeared. Peptic ulcer disease and portal hypertension were once the source of a plethora of surgical interventions; now surgery is rarely necessary for either. New interventions have been developed. Gastric bypass for morbid obesity, once a rare procedure, has become one of the most commonly performed pro- dure. New technology has made operations less invasive but more complex and the knowledge requirements for new technology are very different than that required for conventional surgery. The Illustrated Handbook of General Surgery has been created to allow medical students and residents learning surgery to assimilate, in a rapid and succinct manner, the anatomy and operative techniques associated with the most common surgical interventions. We are proud that all of the chapters have been edited and c- tributed by the faculty of the University of Wisconsin. The Department of Surgery at UW is comprised of almost 80 faculty, with nationally recognized expertise in every specialty. The essence of this text is its portability as well as its conciseness.
