The book Cholesteatoma and Ear Surgery is a selection of papers and presentations, including round tables and symposia, that constitute the proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Cholesteatoma and Ear surgery, a highly successful meeting that attracted over 1000 delegates to the Edinburgh venue.
The book is published by Kugler and is beautifully bonded. The paper is A4 glossy with clear prints and illustrations. The editor, Matthew Yung, has underlined the twin objectives of the conference: to bring basic science on chronic ear disease to the clinicians and to achieve a universal consensus in definitions, classifications and staging of cholesteatoma, something that remains elusive though there are many definitions and classifications.
The book has 53 papers included on various topics. What is lacking, however, is a topic-based table of contents. Having one with no particular formulation makes for a lengthy search if one is looking for a particular topic. As an example, on the first page endoscopic ear surgery, a temporal bone prototype, eustachian tuboplasty and genetics of cholesteatoma are all listed one after the other. The absence of an index compounds the problem. This is not to detract from the usefulness of the book and the richness of its contents.
Fusion imaging, predictive factors for cholesteatoma recurrence in children, biofilms, genetics of cholesteatoma and cholesteatoma classification from various countries and otology groups in world (except the USA) make excellent reading
This book will be beneficial to ENT trainees looking for ideas and for ENT faculty who wish to keep up with what is new. Libraries in hospitals and universities with ENT departments would be well-advised to obtain a copy of the book. The editor writes in the preface that the publishers have provided a POD (publishing on demand) service for paper books “at a reasonable price.”
