The section on novel therapies, such as enemas with xylocaine or short-chain fatty acids, adds little, since these remedies are not easily available to patients or their physicians. Surgical therapy is described and illustrated. A chapter presents the development of surgery for ulcerative colitis from 1930 to the present. Modern surgery is comprehensively explained, although, having never seen a continent ileostomy, I wondered why this procedure was explained in detail. Complications of IBD and therapy, and the risk of cancer caused by this disease, are handled in a clinical and forthright fashion.
Prevention is emphasized.
A section on living with the disease covers issues such as life and disability insurance, employment and quality of life. This section emphasizes that most people with IBD perform as reliably and productively as anyone in the job market. This chapter also gives reliable data on sexuality, fertility, pregnancy and childbirth. Saibil's book is wide ranging and comprehensive enough to educate patients and their families.