Eric Farquharson wrote the 1st edition of Operative Surgery

in 1954. He was a general surgeon in an era when general

surgery still included orthopaedics and urology, and most
surgeons regularly operated on a wide range of problems.He
intended the book to be of value to the surgeon in training,
and he described the common operations within the
boundaries of general surgery in the early 1950s. However,
half a century later, surgical practice has expanded and
changed.Urology and orthopaedics are now separate surgical
disciplines. General surgery itself is subdividing, and the
more advanced procedures in each subspecialty are not
performed by those in other subspecialties, and only rarely
by generalists. Special expertise and the availability of
advanced technology have encouraged development of
centres of excellence for specific conditions, and referral
between surgical colleagues has increased.
For this edition to continue to be a valuable companion for
the practising surgeon, it also has had to evolve. The kernel of
the book remains the description of operations within the
present narrower boundaries of general surgery, with
discussion of the possible surgical options. Non-operative
surgical topics are, of necessity, condensed although it is
acknowledged that the practice of surgery increasingly
encompasses preoperative investigation, the planning of
optimal management in conjunction with non-surgical
colleagues, and the care of the critically ill surgical patient.
Operative surgery in specialities other than general
surgery has now in general been omitted. However, in an
emergency, even those surgeons practising in well-equipped
hospitals in the developed world must occasionally operate
outside their specialty. In addition, previous editions have
proved to be of value to the surgeon working in parts of the
world where general surgery has to be a more allencompassing
surgical discipline. For these reasons, selective
operations have been retained, including some older
techniques, which may still be of value in certain
circumstances.
Eric Farquharson believed in single authorship to give
balance and continuity of style. Specialization, however, was
starting in the 1950s and he sought advice from colleagues
whose practice concentrated on orthopaedics, neurosurgery
and urology. This philosophy has been followed for much of
this new edition. In some chapters advice from several
specialists was obtained, and in the chapters which cover
other surgical disciplines the approach has been from the
viewpoint of the general surgeon.However, in some chapters
a separate general surgical subspeciality author has been
more appropriate. In each chapter a few references, including
some to historic papers, have been selected by the authors.
The choice has been personal, and there has been no attempt
to provide a comprehensive list which can be obtained from
other sources.
This edition is intended for the surgical trainee in general
surgery and should be of value throughout training. It
should also continue to serve more experienced general
surgeons when faced with an operative surgical challenge
outside their chosen area of expertise. Despite
subspecialization, there will always be a need for general
surgical knowledge and skills, and we hope that this book
fulfils this purpose.