Surgical Disorders of the Peripheral Nerves

The first book was very well received by those clinicians fortunate enough to obtain a copy and reviews were positive. However, both marketing and supply were ultimately defective, and so many interested parties were actually unable to purchase a copy. In preparation for this second edition, suggestions have been made by a number of colleagues, notably Professor Susan Hall and Professor Simon Kay, about the organisation of the text, and also highlighted the need for a better quality of production and illustration.
Dr Birch was recently invited to the Mayo Clinic, and also to the Annual meeting of the American Society for Surgery of the hand, where great interest was expressed in the idea of a second edition, and many generous offers of clinical and research material were made by distinguished colleagues working in other countries.
Furthermore, there have been many important advances in this field since 1998 which compel a re-write.
Chief amongst these are better understanding of molecular events across the axolemma (the voltage gated ion channels) of the role of neurotrophins during maturation and after injury, and the effect upon the central nervous system of rupture or transection of a great nerve close to it.
These are particularly relevant in the understanding of neuropathic pain states, and support the clinical position adopted in London some 40 years ago, that repair of such injuries is an urgent business.