Bridging the gap between text and journal

The 240-page book, Vitreoretinal Disorders (Springer) is part of the Current Practices in Ophthalmology, a series of uniform handbooks covering the latest clinically relevant developments in each subspecialty. Edited by Glenn Yiu, this edition aims to bridge the gap between standard texts, which tend to get outdated rapidly, and journals, which contain a great deal of information of questionable clinical relevance. What I found particularly useful and engaging were the very recently updated information on newly described clinical entities such as pachychoroid; explanations on the advantages and limitations of swept-source OCT and angio-OCT; the concepts behind adaptive optics; and the most up-to-date insights into difficult problems such as submacular haemorrhage and retained perfluorocarbon. What struck me about this book is an assumption of a high level of sophistication in the reader. The authors do not waste time describing what all readers already know, such as the cause of a retinal detachment. The chapter “Retinal Detachment Surgery” jumps straight into topics like chandelier-assisted scleral buckling and suprachoroidal buckling. This book is intended for general ophthalmologists interested in getting up to date regarding progress in vitreoretinal disease; retina fellows and highly motivated ophthalmology trainees; and retinal specialists who would like a concise summary of recent developments in their field.

Tags: retina, Vitreoretinal Disorders