Just as children are not little adults, the discipline of paediatric surgery is not equivalent to surgery for adults. Differences in anatomy, diseases affecting children and the appropriate therapies make the surgical care of children confusing and tense. Even within paediatric care, the extensive changes children undergo as they develop from neonates to adolescents causes different care to be required at different stages. Full-size texts are available for comprehensive review of paediatric surgery when one has the luxury to sit and study at a desk, but no pocket-sized guide specific to paediatric surgery is available. This book will fulfil the need for rapid, clear, concise guidance in the immediate bedside evaluation and treatment of children suffering surgical disease. It will provide assistance to surgical and paediatric providers alike; anyone who has a hand in the urgent care of children requiring a surgeon. The book is also a convenient focused board review guide for trainees and active practitioners taking board examinations. The editors are busy paediatric surgeons at a teaching hospital, performing operations on children every day, as well as training students and residents. The contributors are drawn from the broad spectrum of paediatric specialists encompassing the disciplines necessary to staff a tertiary children's hospital.
