A Brief Review of Some Early Contributions to Liver Surgery (1953-55)
Selected quotes from the reviews of the book by H. Gans:
Introduction to Hepatic Surgery,
Elsevier Publishing Comp., Amsterdam, Houston, London, New York, 1955, 265 pages, 120 illustrations:
Gans’s book appears to be the first book which has been devoted to the subject of hepatic surgery, and it is indeed both interesting and provocative.
The British Journal of Surgery of November 1955
An excellent review of the anatomy of the liver is presented. The chapter dealing with the indications for hepatic operations stimulates one to conjecture as to the future of liver surgery. The indications of such operations are outlined in detail. The care of the patient in the postoperative period is well summarized. An excellent and detailed biography is presented. The author writes in a clear and succinct manner. The book should serve a useful purpose in the hands of those surgeons who have met failure in hepatic surgery in the past and need stimulation prior to a second attempt.
From the Journal of the American Medical Association, May 12, 1956
The author suggests principles of “hepatic surgery based on the morphology of the liver.”......This presentation should be of interest to anyone who contemplates hepatic surgery and may well result in stimulation and further accomplishment in this relatively unexplored field.
James T. Priestley, Mayo Clinic, in Surgery, Obstetrics Gynecology, Febr 1957, 252-3.
This study of the intra-hepatic hollow structures... is an excellent piece of research.....To surgeons operating on the liver this book will prove to be a valuable guide to the anatomy and the author makes a strong case for the abandonment of operations that do not take into account the vascular arrangement.
R. Miles Walker, Brit. Med Journal 21 Jan 1956.
This book is apparently the first to deal exclusively with the surgery of theliver. It contains an excellent historical review of the development of the anatomical knowledge concerning the liver. The many fine illustrations of injected specimens of the liver and diagrams show nicely the segmental nature of the intrahepatic structures and their relationship to the external divisions of the liver.....The book contains much material of interest to surgeons dealing with hepatic problems. ...It seems to fulfill the author’s purpose, namely “to present important aspects of the anatomy and surgery of the liver and to interest investigators in the problems yet to be solved.”
Joseph J. Zuska, U.S. Armed Forces Medical Journal, Vol VII,1842, 1956.
...The surgical technique is clearly enunciated and the pre-operative preparation and after-care are defined. The magnitude of the operation is impressive and the forestalling of complications and the recognition of post-operative mishaps are imperative. Different approaches are recommended for the right (abdomino-thoracic) and left (sternum split mid-line) hepatic resections. It is obvious therefore that the surgeon must know fairly accurately what he expects to find. .... Written like an essay, this work is authoritative, informative and clearly illustrated. It is a notable contribution to resectional surgery.
Med. Journal of Australia, 1956
For this study of the anatomy of the Glissonian and hepatic vein systems, Dr. Gans cast the vessels in plastic material by injecting post mortem specimen. These cast have indicated a fairly constant lobe system within the liver which does not entirely correspond with the external appearances of the organ, some fine photographic reproductions illustrate this point which is of importance to the surgeon contemplating partial hepatectomy.
the Lancet July 1, 1956
Dr Gans... endeavors to correlate his findings ..... in planning a subdivision of the liver into units or segments , as has been done by Brock in the case of the lung. In the second half of the book he discussed the indications for operation on the liver and endeavors to outline a series of segmental resections based on the unities he has described.... The work is painstaking and thorough and the illustrations of the corrosion specimens are admirably reproduced. Dr. Gans does his best to make the subject as clear to others as it is to him.
Proc. Royal Soc. Med. Vol 49, #1, Jan 1956.
No surgeon can claim everyday acquaintance with surgery of the liver, and any clarification of hepatic anatomy and surgery is assured of a welcome by all abdominal surgeons. The author of this book bases his anatomical conclusions on the study of over one hundred injected specimens. His findings will be of considerable help in surgical dissection of the liver and his recommendations on the site of ligation of the Glissonian complex and of the hepatic veins should add more precision to these operations.... There is much useful information in this book....
Postgrad. Med. Journal p 449, Sept 1956
Gans has evidently sought to provide an accurate anatomical basis for partial hepatectomy, an operation not often demanded, and possibly not often justified save perhaps when it involves the removal of a part of the left lobe adherent to a stomach cancer. He emphasizes that the division of the liver into functional halves does not correspond to the anatomical definition into right and left lobes; the line of cleavage is an unmarked and impalpable plane between the gallbladder bed and the groove of the vena cava. Across this plane there is so little in the way of vascular and bile duct communication that incisions are relatively safe and easy. The monograph may be useful to surgeons who may have to undertake operations on the liver.
J Royal Coll Surg Edinburgh, Sept 1956, p 79.
This book is an excellent summary of further research into the surgical anatomy of the liver. It may well indicate a new approach towards radical liver surgery. Exhaustive study is made of the normal and variable elements of the liver’s circulatory system.
The generalist surgeon will not anticipate doing this type of surgery. Whereas excellent anatomical and research study is presented by Dr. Gans, this volume will not be useful to the general practitioner except for things to come in this radical type of surgery.
Andrew S. Tomb, the Practitioner’s Bookshelf, Nov 1956.
Since George Pack showed his films on partial hepatectomy for cancer in this country, this new adventure upon the frontiers of surgery has commanded much interest. Gans’s book supplements the demonstration and brings the important basic sciences into the picture. It is therefore indispensable to those who will embark on this esoteric surgery.
J Austr. Med 1956
Dieses Buch ist höchst aktuell! Seine Erscheinen – zum richtigen Augenblick – ist kennseichnend für die Entwickelung, welche die Chirurgie der Leber in den letzten Jahren einzuschlagen beginnt. Etc, etc.
Zentralorgan fur die gesammte Chirurgie und ihre Grenzgebiete. Band 142, Heft 5/6.
Das Buch wendet sich mit seiner Inhalt vor allem and den operativ tätigen Chirurgen und will ihm einen Weg weisen, auf dem er ohne allzu grosse Gefahren und auch ohne besonderen Aufwand in ein Gebiet verdringen kann, das heute noch für viele praktisch unerschlossen ist. Daneben ist es von besonderem Interesse für die normale wie pathalogische Anatomie aber auch für jeden praktischen Artz oder Fachartz den einen Einblick in die heutige gegebenen operativen Möglichkeiten der Leber zu erhalten wünscht.
W.Born, Aerzliche Mitteilungen 41, II, 4, 1956.
Dieser Ausbau der Leberchirurgie auf Grund einer sehr exakten Darstellung des Gefässsystem – Ductus Hepaticus, wird illustriert durch zahlreiche sehr anschauliche Abbildungen ...... Auf dieser Basis wird an Hand guter Abbildungen eine Chirurgie der Leber beschrieben, wie sie jeder Bauchchirurg sich zu eigen machen soltte. Die Kapitel: Der chirurgische Zugang zur Leber, die Hemiehepatectomie und einige Hepatolobectomies.
Der deutsche Anteil an der Entwicklung der Leberchirurgie ist voll berücksichtigt (z.b. B.Ruge und W.Wendel).
H. Flörcken, Munchener Medizinische Wochenschrift Heft 1, 1956.
Introduction to Hepatic Surgery,
Elsevier Publishing Comp., Amsterdam, Houston, London, New York, 1955, 265 pages, 120 illustrations:
Gans’s book appears to be the first book which has been devoted to the subject of hepatic surgery, and it is indeed both interesting and provocative.
The British Journal of Surgery of November 1955
An excellent review of the anatomy of the liver is presented. The chapter dealing with the indications for hepatic operations stimulates one to conjecture as to the future of liver surgery. The indications of such operations are outlined in detail. The care of the patient in the postoperative period is well summarized. An excellent and detailed biography is presented. The author writes in a clear and succinct manner. The book should serve a useful purpose in the hands of those surgeons who have met failure in hepatic surgery in the past and need stimulation prior to a second attempt.
From the Journal of the American Medical Association, May 12, 1956
The author suggests principles of “hepatic surgery based on the morphology of the liver.”......This presentation should be of interest to anyone who contemplates hepatic surgery and may well result in stimulation and further accomplishment in this relatively unexplored field.
James T. Priestley, Mayo Clinic, in Surgery, Obstetrics Gynecology, Febr 1957, 252-3.
This study of the intra-hepatic hollow structures... is an excellent piece of research.....To surgeons operating on the liver this book will prove to be a valuable guide to the anatomy and the author makes a strong case for the abandonment of operations that do not take into account the vascular arrangement.
R. Miles Walker, Brit. Med Journal 21 Jan 1956.
This book is apparently the first to deal exclusively with the surgery of theliver. It contains an excellent historical review of the development of the anatomical knowledge concerning the liver. The many fine illustrations of injected specimens of the liver and diagrams show nicely the segmental nature of the intrahepatic structures and their relationship to the external divisions of the liver.....The book contains much material of interest to surgeons dealing with hepatic problems. ...It seems to fulfill the author’s purpose, namely “to present important aspects of the anatomy and surgery of the liver and to interest investigators in the problems yet to be solved.”
Joseph J. Zuska, U.S. Armed Forces Medical Journal, Vol VII,1842, 1956.
...The surgical technique is clearly enunciated and the pre-operative preparation and after-care are defined. The magnitude of the operation is impressive and the forestalling of complications and the recognition of post-operative mishaps are imperative. Different approaches are recommended for the right (abdomino-thoracic) and left (sternum split mid-line) hepatic resections. It is obvious therefore that the surgeon must know fairly accurately what he expects to find. .... Written like an essay, this work is authoritative, informative and clearly illustrated. It is a notable contribution to resectional surgery.
Med. Journal of Australia, 1956
For this study of the anatomy of the Glissonian and hepatic vein systems, Dr. Gans cast the vessels in plastic material by injecting post mortem specimen. These cast have indicated a fairly constant lobe system within the liver which does not entirely correspond with the external appearances of the organ, some fine photographic reproductions illustrate this point which is of importance to the surgeon contemplating partial hepatectomy.
the Lancet July 1, 1956
Dr Gans... endeavors to correlate his findings ..... in planning a subdivision of the liver into units or segments , as has been done by Brock in the case of the lung. In the second half of the book he discussed the indications for operation on the liver and endeavors to outline a series of segmental resections based on the unities he has described.... The work is painstaking and thorough and the illustrations of the corrosion specimens are admirably reproduced. Dr. Gans does his best to make the subject as clear to others as it is to him.
Proc. Royal Soc. Med. Vol 49, #1, Jan 1956.
No surgeon can claim everyday acquaintance with surgery of the liver, and any clarification of hepatic anatomy and surgery is assured of a welcome by all abdominal surgeons. The author of this book bases his anatomical conclusions on the study of over one hundred injected specimens. His findings will be of considerable help in surgical dissection of the liver and his recommendations on the site of ligation of the Glissonian complex and of the hepatic veins should add more precision to these operations.... There is much useful information in this book....
Postgrad. Med. Journal p 449, Sept 1956
Gans has evidently sought to provide an accurate anatomical basis for partial hepatectomy, an operation not often demanded, and possibly not often justified save perhaps when it involves the removal of a part of the left lobe adherent to a stomach cancer. He emphasizes that the division of the liver into functional halves does not correspond to the anatomical definition into right and left lobes; the line of cleavage is an unmarked and impalpable plane between the gallbladder bed and the groove of the vena cava. Across this plane there is so little in the way of vascular and bile duct communication that incisions are relatively safe and easy. The monograph may be useful to surgeons who may have to undertake operations on the liver.
J Royal Coll Surg Edinburgh, Sept 1956, p 79.
This book is an excellent summary of further research into the surgical anatomy of the liver. It may well indicate a new approach towards radical liver surgery. Exhaustive study is made of the normal and variable elements of the liver’s circulatory system.
The generalist surgeon will not anticipate doing this type of surgery. Whereas excellent anatomical and research study is presented by Dr. Gans, this volume will not be useful to the general practitioner except for things to come in this radical type of surgery.
Andrew S. Tomb, the Practitioner’s Bookshelf, Nov 1956.
Since George Pack showed his films on partial hepatectomy for cancer in this country, this new adventure upon the frontiers of surgery has commanded much interest. Gans’s book supplements the demonstration and brings the important basic sciences into the picture. It is therefore indispensable to those who will embark on this esoteric surgery.
J Austr. Med 1956
Dieses Buch ist höchst aktuell! Seine Erscheinen – zum richtigen Augenblick – ist kennseichnend für die Entwickelung, welche die Chirurgie der Leber in den letzten Jahren einzuschlagen beginnt. Etc, etc.
Zentralorgan fur die gesammte Chirurgie und ihre Grenzgebiete. Band 142, Heft 5/6.
Das Buch wendet sich mit seiner Inhalt vor allem and den operativ tätigen Chirurgen und will ihm einen Weg weisen, auf dem er ohne allzu grosse Gefahren und auch ohne besonderen Aufwand in ein Gebiet verdringen kann, das heute noch für viele praktisch unerschlossen ist. Daneben ist es von besonderem Interesse für die normale wie pathalogische Anatomie aber auch für jeden praktischen Artz oder Fachartz den einen Einblick in die heutige gegebenen operativen Möglichkeiten der Leber zu erhalten wünscht.
W.Born, Aerzliche Mitteilungen 41, II, 4, 1956.
Dieser Ausbau der Leberchirurgie auf Grund einer sehr exakten Darstellung des Gefässsystem – Ductus Hepaticus, wird illustriert durch zahlreiche sehr anschauliche Abbildungen ...... Auf dieser Basis wird an Hand guter Abbildungen eine Chirurgie der Leber beschrieben, wie sie jeder Bauchchirurg sich zu eigen machen soltte. Die Kapitel: Der chirurgische Zugang zur Leber, die Hemiehepatectomie und einige Hepatolobectomies.
Der deutsche Anteil an der Entwicklung der Leberchirurgie ist voll berücksichtigt (z.b. B.Ruge und W.Wendel).
H. Flörcken, Munchener Medizinische Wochenschrift Heft 1, 1956.
