The definite treatment ofaortic disorders goes back to the resection ofisthmic coarctation by Clarence Crafoord in 1944. It took another third of a century until all portionsofthe aortabecameaccessible to highly standardized surgery. This progress, delayed as it was in relation to most other cardiovascular in- terventions, depended on the availability of safe protective methods for the heart and central nervous system, of reliable vascular grafts and atraumatic instruments, novel suture material and tissue adhesives. The development ofadvanced surgical techniques went hand in hand with, and depended upon, the emergence of proper diagnostic tools, starting with aortography andultimately culminating inCT-scanning, transesophageal echo- cardiography and magnetic resonance imaging. These tools now allow for the rational planning and conductofany aortic intervention which may be surgical or, more recently, catheter-guided. Nienaber's and Fattori's new book aptly is addressing both the diagnos- tic procedure as well as the treatment of aortic disease.
The authors are well known experts in the fields of advanced diagnostics of aortic pathology, both spearheading a remarkably innovative group of aortic interventionalists as well. On account of their expertise, their chapters are able to answer any question rising in conjunction with these subjects.