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Twenty-one years ago, Willis J. Potts dedicated his at times poetical and philosophical book The Surgeon and the Child to the deformed infant. He described this infant if it could speak as imploring the surgeon,
Please exercise the greatest gentleness with my miniature tissues and try to correct the deformity at the first operation. Give me blood and the proper amount of fluid and electrolytes; add plenty of oxygen to the anesthesia, and I will show you that I can tolerate a terrific amount of surgery. You will be surprised at the speed of my recovery, and I shall always be grateful to you.
In his postscript and rededication, he indicated that much he had written would soon be made obsolete by better methods of diagnosis and improved surgical techniques. The editors of this book have compiled a concise volume of the current state of the art management of the