Main description:

In 1983 and 1984, I had the pleasure of being invited to Europe for the Cour- se of Hepatobiliary Surgery started by Professor Hepp and continued by Pro- fessor Bismuth. In these courses, I demonstrated many slides and movies of intraoperative echography that Makuuchi, one of my staff members, had made using the transducer that he was the first to develop. The topic of Intraoperative Echography had an enormous impact on the audience, and its use has since spread rapidly over the European countries, by virtue of the first Italian edition of Professor Gozzetti's book on Intra- operative Echography and Professor Bismuth's monograph on the same top- ic. I had been, therefore, unwittingly a very fortunate transmitter of intra- operative echography to Europe by means of Makuuchi's slide file. I am extremely honoured that the Italian Edition written by Gozzetti, Maz- ziotti and Bolondi has been dedicated to me. Also in this English Edition, Professor Gozzetti very kindly asked me to write a few words.
It is an extra- ordinary pleasure for me to emphasize how this book is easy to read and understand, maybe by virtue of the profound Italian tradition of artistic expression since the Renaissance. On the other hand, a variety of series of intraoperative echographic images as well as resected specimens are arranged in an excellent manner.

Contents:

1: Physical Principles and Instrumentation.- The physics of ultrasound.- Ultrasound wave generation.- Interaction between ultrasound waves and tissue.- Instrumentation.- Main features.- Real time equipment.- Doppler-ultrasound.- 2: Intraoperative Ultrasonography: Instrumentation and Exploration Technique.- 3: Ultrasound Terminology.- Homogeneous echogenic echopattern.- Anechoic echopattern.- Mixed or complex echopatterns.- Hypoechoic echopattern.- Hyperechoic echopattern.- Inhomogeneous echopattern.- 4: Intraoperative Ultrasonography during Liver Surgery.- The technique of intraoperative echographic exploration of the liver.- Liver anatomy at ultrasound investigation.- Ultrasound appearances of liver tumors.- Benign tumors.- Malignant tumors.- Diagnosing intrahepatic lesions.- Relationship of lesion to intrahepatic vessels.- Surgery for liver carcinoma in cirrhotics.- Operative ultrasound during surgery for hepatic hydatidosis.- Liver abscesses.- Intraoperative ultrasound in traumatic liver leprous.- Surgical removal of benign liver tumors.- 5: Intraoperative Ultrasound during Bile Tract Surgery.- Intraoperative exploration technique of the bile tree.- Bile tree anatomy at ultrasound.- Biliary stones.- Tumors of the biliary tree.- 6: The Role of Intraoperative Ultrasound in Biliary Surgery: Results and Critical Evaluation in Cholelithiasis and Biliary Cancer.- Materials and methods.- Materials.- Methods.- Normal bile duct echoanatomy.- Lithiasis.- Gallbladder.- Common duct stones.- Intrahepatic stones.- Tumors of the bile duct.- Conclusions.- 7: Intraoperative Ultrasound during Pancreatic Surgery.- Exploration.- Pancreatic carcinomas.- Endocrine tumors.- Conclusions.- 8: Intraoperative Ultrasonography and Endocrine Tumors of the Pancreas.- Technique for the detection of endocrine tumors.- Results.- Indications.- Conclusion.- 9: Intraoperative Ultrasound during Surgery for Portal Hypertension and Liver Transplantation.- Venous thrombosis.- Vascular mapping.- Checking shunt patency.- Scanning for hypatocarcinoma nodules.- Intraoperative duplex ultrasound in liver transplantation.- Index of subjects.