Brian Hancock MD FRCS Honorary Consultant Surgeon, University Hospital of South Manchester, UK £19.95,  978-1-85315-611-3,  60pp,  Paperback,  August 2005

Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England
I first came across this outstanding book during a recent working visit to the Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. The endorsement of this book by the surgeons at the Fistula Hospital and their purchase of 500 copies to give to doctors coming to the hospital to learn fistula surgery (and to take with them when they travel to other countries to teach the topic) is a far better commendation than I could give in this review.I hope that reading this book will stimulate surgeons young and old to use their surgical skills and spend time in the non-industrialised world treating these young women.

The Ulster Medical Journal
This slim and easy to read volume deals with the aetiology of obstetric causes of Vesico-vainal fistula (VVF) and the variety of fistulae encountered.There are step by step descriptions of procedures illustrated with excellent photographs.It is particularly easy to read and should be considered essential reading for anyone who is considering working on the African continent.

WINNER Best New Authored Book at RSM & Society of Authors Book Awards 2006

Nobody knows how many fistula patients there are who have been forgotten and are without hope. Estimates are up to 2.000.000 in Africa alone. However, recent survey of fistula repair throughout Uganda revealed that only 270 repairs were carried out in 2002. The reasons for this range from perceptions of the operation as being difficult, to the lack of training, special instruments and tools required for performing this operation.

Written by an expert in the obstetric damage repair field, Brian Hancock has encouraged many surgeons and gynaecologists to develop and share expertise in the fistula field, and has even founded a charity to pay for free treatment for injuries incurred during childbirth at three hospitals in Uganda. His expertise comes to a head in this book where he shows that fears and concerns surrounding vesico vaginal repair are often unfounded, as many fistulae can be cured locally, without sophisticated equipment or specialist surgeons.

The purpose of this publication is to help the beginner to get started by recognizing the easy cases and to show step by step how they should be repaired. Postoperative care is described and shown to be very simple. This book will be of use to all of those dealing with obstetric fistulae, whether in developing or developed countries, as doctors and physicians in both may be as equally unfamiliar as each other with the different appearances and techniques of repair.

Tropical Doctor


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