EASY ACCESS

With current fellowships generally providing in-depth training, and with so much information readily available online, there seems to be little enthusiasm among most practitioners for big, heavy textbooks. Thus, “high-yield” handbooks, easily accessible educational references, have proliferated in their stead.

The Handbook of Retinal OCT, by Jay S Duker, Nadia K Waheed and Darin R Goldman (Elsevier Saunders), is a 170-page gem of insight into optical coherence tomography (OCT). Each pathologic entity receives one page of concise text on the left-hand side and a series of well-illustrated, high-quality OCT pictures on the right.

The text follows a standard and logical progression of information: Introduction, Clinical Features, OCT Features, Ancillary Testing and Treatment. What makes this book a pleasure is the precisely defined structural abnormalities indicated on the OCTs. For example, the description of subretinal perfluorocarbon: “… shows a completely hyporeflective space occupied by the perfluorocarbon. There is a distinct rim of hyper-reflectivity. The overlying retina is very thin due to a mechanical effect of the dense liquid.”

The publication covers the usual suspects like age-related macular degeneration and central retinal vein occlusion, but also less common and/or newly identified entities like dome-shaped macula and vitreoretinal lymphoma. Diseases with several stages, or with morphological variability, are portrayed in multiple scans in order to cover the full spectrum.

IN-DEPTH GUIDANCE

For those looking for more in-depth guidance in retinal disease, the Handbook of Retinal Disease: A Case-Based Approach (JP Medical) is a new option. Also written by Dr Duker and Dr Goldman, along with three other colleagues, the theme of this book is: “How to approach a patient with…”

It features 77 cases, each presented with a table summarising clinical findings, differential diagnosis, questions to ask the patient and recommended imaging. After a discussion of the diagnostic imaging results, a final diagnosis is proposed with a summary of prognosis, recommended treatment and follow-up.

The handbook is a practical one, intended to assist in the clinic those who are already familiar with the range of medical and surgical retinal pathologies, but who might appreciate a reminder regarding the specifics of less commonly encountered diseases. It is easy to use and well illustrated with up-to-date imaging and a clear, logical progression. This book is intended for both trainees and practising physicians, whether general ophthalmologists or retinal specialists.