Charles Granville Rob (1913–2001), an English vascular surgeon who became Professor of Surgery in Rochester, New York, and Rodney (later Lord) Smith (of Marlow) (1914–1998), a London hepatobiliary surgeon, published and oversaw the first three editions of Operative Surgery from 1956. Over the next 20 years or so they proceeded to co-write and edit a suite of surgical specialty textbooks devoted to technique and operations. Mr Harold Homewood Nixon from Great Ormond Street in London became the first specialist pediatric collaborator and, in the fourth edition, he took on the editorial role in combination with Lewis Spitz from the same hospital. Lewis was joined by Arnold Coran from Michigan from the fifth edition onwards, with a noticeable lurch across the Atlantic in terms of the increased proportion of invited North American authors and use of American spelling (Figure 1).
The new editors for this eighth edition are Mark Davenport, from London, and James Geiger, from Michigan, both of whom have had privileged mentor relationships with their predecessors. This edition offers a break with the past and some serious revision of contents and presentation. We have tried to simplify and to some extent condense the previous structure with its 100+ chapters by combining open and endoscopic / minimally invasive surgical procedures in single chapters, often with two authors from either side of the great divide. Our reasoning has been that the condition /disease is the same although the route to successful therapy may well be different. We have tried to retain key surgeons who are recognized throughout the world as masters of their art – and this is certainly obvious in operations requiring the highest degrees of skill or judgment.
The most obvious change, though, is in terms of presentation. This edition makes significant use of color in the schematics and anatomical artwork, sees the introduction of operative photographs and, most appositely, includes a bank of reference videos, which we hope will aid understanding while demonstrating real life in the operating room.
As with all great writing endeavors, there has been a great deal going on in the background, unseen and probably uncredited. This is, after all, the culmination of the work of a host of international surgeons with different styles and accomplishments but all united in the desire to produce the best product they can. We hope that the final version is more than a sum of its parts. To achieve this, we required considerable help from our associate editors, Nigel Hall and Steven Rothenberg, the latter hosting a memorable editorial meeting at the onset of winter in his Eagles’ Nest in Colorado. We would also like to thank Samantha Cook and the Miranda Bromage in the office of the publishers for their considerable professional insights and input.
JG dedicates this work to Daniel H. Teitelbaum, MD (1956−2016). Dan served as an Associate Editor of the seventh edition of Operative Pediatric Surgery. Had he not sadly passed away at the age of 59 years after a long struggle with a brain tumor, he would have been one of the editors of this edition. Dan was a brilliant clinician and scientist who made signification contributions to improving the care of children with short bowel syndrome, Hirschsprung disease, and inflammatory bowel disease. He was loved greatly by his patients, who recognized his great skill and selfless devotion to their care, and also by the residents, fellows, and colleagues, who valued his great wisdom, intellect, and kindness. Dan’s extraordinary accomplishments will forever impact the care of children.
MD dedicates this work to Derek (1927–2018) and Gladys (1927–2019) Davenport.
Mark Davenport, ChM, FRCS(Paeds), FRCS(Eng)
James Geiger, MD, FACS
Timeline of Operative Pediatric Surgery
