Although written nearly 100 years ago, Halsted's words hold true even for surgeons of this century. To achieve competence, physicians must not only evaluate patients and determine if and when surgery is required but also must practice their skills, either through simulation or in the operating room. In addition, surgeons-in-training must absorb critical information that will assist their learning process as well as help them avoid complications (and retaliations).

Nezhat's Operative Gynecologic Laparoscopy and Hysteroscopy is a glossy 630 pages that surveys the expanding world of endoscopy and the developments achieved over the last 4 decades—developments that accelerated rapidly after the addition of the video monitor to the rigid laparoscope. Other equipment innovations of the last decade are nothing short of remarkable and make almost any procedure previously performed through a large . . . [Full Text of this Article]