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Operative techniques invite photographic illustration. It all seems so easy with PHD (push here dummy) cameras, but good operating room photographs are difficult to obtain. Usually such pictures taken by amateurs could be used interchangeably for any operation simply by altering the captions. Atlases abound. Some rely on drawings, others on photographs. Each has its benefits and detriments. The former often become confusing because of the artistic flourishes of the illustrator who considers his true mission the painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Photographic atlases are even more perilous. This, however, is the chosen media for the 25 published volumes of which this book on anterior resection is one. Each illustrates a specific surgical procedure with photographs and sparse descriptive comments on technique. The book is designed to help young surgeons with details of operative technique. A secondary objective is to remind established surgeons of techniques in procedures they seldom