Media Type : Textbook

Synopsis : The explosive growth in our understanding of the nervous system over the past 30 years has been accompanied by parallel growth of knowledge in related medical fields such as pediatric neuro-ophthalmology. The second edition of Pediatric Neuro-Ophthalmology keeps pace, citing more than 6500 articles in an extensive, updated review of neuro-ophthalmic disorders affecting infants and children. Though thorough, Dr Brodsky does not offer the dry “list and discuss” approach commonly presented in textbooks, but shares his own innovative, stimulating, conceptual organization of this complex area. His limpid writing style is richly complemented by numerous high-quality photos, tables, and flow charts.

Target Audience : Ophthalmologists who provide care for children

Review : This book organizes the field of pediatric ophthalmology into 11 chapters: 1. The Apparently Blind Infant, 2. Congenital Optic Disc Abnormalities, 3. The Swollen Optic Disc, 4. Optic Atrophy, 5. Transient Unexplained and Psychogenic Visual Loss, 6. Ocular Motor Nerve Palsies, 7. Complex Ocular Motor Disorders, 8. Nystagmus, 9. Torticollis and Head Oscillations, 10. Neuro-Ophthalmologic Manifestations of Neurodegenerative Disorders, 11. Neuro-Ophthalmologic Manifestations of Systemic Intracranial Disease.

Each chapter and each group of disorders (or etiologies) within a chapter begins with a short introduction that delivers essential background regarding such topics as: the author’s overall clinical approach to these entities, his rationale for clustering them, important differences between the pediatric and adult forms, definitions of necessary terminology, essential problems with and limitations of the clinical examination, pitfalls in diagnosis and management, current controversies, and a variety of other insights based upon the author’s experience and review of the literature. Many readers will use this 4.3 lb book as a reference to guide their approach to clinical cases; they will reap great rewards–and efficiencies-from reading these short, informative introductions before proceeding to the specific topic of interest. The book is replete with outstanding illustrations, tables, and flow charts. Again, readers will benefit from glancing through the section of interest to orient themselves to these resources before plunging into the description of a specific disorder. Once readers arrive at a topic of interest they will find a lucid, in-depth discussion of the disorder accompanied by sensible and practical clinical advice.

There is little, and nothing of major significance, to criticize here. The attentive reader will find several confusing figure legend errors and a few typographical errors. But there are remarkably few of these minor problems given the huge amount of information presented.

Dr Michael Brodsky, the sole author of the second edition of Pediatric Neuro-Ophthalmology , succeeds in creating a consistent, concise writing style. He displays robust intellectual curiosity and provides illuminating discussions of an enormous range of observations from recent literature. Although aimed at ophthalmologists, the book should also prove readily accessible and useful to neurologists, neurosurgeons, and pediatricians. Dr Brodsky has created a unique, accurate, thorough, well-written, highly-referenced guide to the central clinical neuro-ophthalmic presentations and disorders of infancy and childhood.