Reviewer: Calvin Chao, MD (Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine)
Description: This is an updated introduction and guide to all topics relating to vascular ultrasound diagnosis. This seventh edition retains its authors as the successor to the 2012 edition. New content includes material on ultrasound physics, vascular laboratory quality, contrast application, and the integration of "Practical Tips" in each chapter.
Purpose: The authors seek to provide guidance to students, technologists, sonographers, and clinicians actively involved in the use of vascular ultrasound for patient diagnosis and management. More specifically, they aim to present educational information on the proper performance and ultimately interpretation of vascular studies. They are successful on both fronts as the book succinctly discusses the wide spectrum of applications for vascular ultrasonography.
Audience: The book is written primarily for vascular technologists, sonographers, and other practitioners that may perform or interpret vascular studies. As evidenced by the contributor specialties, the topics are most pertinent to diagnostic radiology. Interventionalists and vascular surgeons may find the information useful, but less so for the treatment of vascular pathology. The book appropriately spans the spectrum of vascular evaluation, including both the successful performance as well as the interpretation of vascular studies. The authors are well equipped to update their original work and the contributors, mostly physicians with some technologists, are well recognized in their respective fields.
Features: The book is divided into six sections, spanning 35 chapters, 22 of which are written by the authors. The sections present basics of vascular ultrasound, cerebral vasculature, extremity arterial vasculature, extremity venous vasculature, and abdominal and pelvic vascular ultrasound, as well as trends in ultrasound vascular imaging. One commendable feature of the book's organization is that while most chapters are appropriately divided by anatomy, some focus solely on common postoperative evaluation such as endovascular aneurysm repair or organ transplantation. The text is accompanied by over 2100 images, mostly ultrasonography but also CT, fluoroscopy, anatomic diagrams, and, importantly, photos of proper probe placement. Though less pertinent for the diagnostic audience, the book offers little content on intravascular ultrasound.
Assessment: The authors succeed in producing a contemporary and comprehensive reference on arterial and venous ultrasound, suitable for both practitioners and trainees across multiple specialties. The book is of particular use for its intended audience of vascular technologists, sonographers, and physicians focusing solely on vascular diagnosis. Interventionalists and surgeons will still find the book useful for diagnostic purposes. New content on the vascular lab, contrast applications, and physics largely justifies this new edition.