ABC of Ear, Nose and Throat – Sixth Edition / ABC للأذن والأنف والحنجرة – الإصدار السادس

ABC of Ear, Nose and Throat – Sixth Edition, Thirty years ago Stephen Lock, then Editor of the British Medical Journal, asked me (HL) to produce a series of articles for the journal.

Subsequently, these were published as the First Edition of this book (1981). He wrote of the importance of our specialty ‘‘counting for

a substantial fraction of all consultations in general practice’’ and emphasized their economic importance.

He said that the work was ‘‘collected together to provide the busy clinician with a practical, reliable source for these common problems’’.

Since that time the specialty of ENT has expanded, diagnostics have improved and treatment of many diseases and disorders has changed, but the majority of patients seen in General Practice can be reassured by an accurate diagnosis and appropriate management advice. However, some patients who present with ‘‘minor or trivial’’ symptoms will reveal a significant diagnosis when investigated.

Following treatment, most will be cured, while some will suffer some functional morbidity, and others may have a serious condition that, if not treated quickly and appropriately, may result in mortality.

These, the minority of patients, need to be recognized and referred quickly and appropriately for evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment.

Patrick J. Bradley joined as a co-editor for the Fifth Edition (2007), and introduced several colleague specialists, recognized as experts in various subspecialties within ENT. This format has been maintained with an expansion of the topics covered.

The aims of previous editions persist in this Sixth Edition, including a readership of medical and dental students, nurses, and all the many other health workers dealing with the problems embraced by our specialty. We have rearranged the chapter titles and contents to reflect changes over recent years.

The clinical practice of ENT has seen an expansion of our ‘‘workload’’ and now involves joint management across several disciplines: embracing neurosurgery in the handling of skull base tumors, oncology and radiotherapy for head and neck cancer, endoscopy, and robotics for surgical excision of tumors, and facial plastic surgery for the management of cosmetic and facial lesions.

The current practice continues to emphasize that the eradication of disease remains the priority, but the preservation or retention of function, so intimately associated with ENT, is given equal status in modern clinical and surgical practice.

This edition continues to emphasize when referral for specialist diagnosis is needed and has been brought up to date.