Feb 18 2009
“Before the Scalpel” by Panchali Dhar, MD
Before I get this party started, I just wanted to say that I was sent this book for free from the publisher, and my review of it is part of a virtual book tour being done by the author. This didn’t change how I felt about the book or what I am about to say, but I did think that in the spirit of honesty and forthrightness, I ought to tell you guys that anyway.
Moving on…
Before the Scalpel: What Everyone Should Know About Anesthesia by Panchali Dhar, MD was an interesting look into the world of anesthesia, something that us normal people usually miss seeing (probably because we’re sleeping. ::rim shot:: Okay, no more bad jokes, promise).
The two best things about the book were A) The author is an actual anesthesiologist; she doesn’t just play one on TV, and B) The book is well written, walking the fine line between being easy to understand by the patients who don’t have medical degrees, yet including a lot of accurate medical information. It is easy to veer off into one direction or the other, but Dr Dhar does a great job of balancing the two needs.
Before the Scalpel covers a lot of situations - not just your standard scenarios like giving birth or having open heart surgery, but also dealing with surgeries on children, mouth (oral) surgeries, and having cosmetic surgery, among others.
I don’t plan on having surgery any time soon, but I still found it fascinating how they formulate an approach, what goes into the training of an anesthesiologist, and how the patient is handled while under anesthesia (did you know that while the patient is being operated on, an anesthesiologist is there at all times? I always thought that the anesthesiologist did their thing, and then left, but that’s not so. They stay from beginning to end to monitor the patient at all times).
The publishers also put a lot effort into providing great visuals - diagrams of anesthesia machines, cute pictures of babies, and other great shots (like of a baby penguin pushing its way out of the egg while the penguin parents looked on.) Too many books have pages of dry facts and no illustrations, something that’ll put you to sleep without the need of any anesthesia. 
I was impressed by how this book handled that.
If you or a loved one is facing surgery in the near future, and you’re worried about the effects of the anesthesia or you want to know what your options are, I would highly recommend reading this book. I have a coworker at the library whose father is very sick and is facing yet another surgery - I think I’m going to give her this book to read, because she’s a worrier, and it might help put her mind at ease.
I give Before the Scalpel 4.75 out of 5 stars. Highly recommended for anyone facing surgery, or for anyone looking at entering the anesthesiology field.
Havs
Thanks so much for the great review! Now I’m really intrigued by the book.
It’s especially interesting to me because I had some sort-of-minor surgery last September, which was my first experience with being put right under, since I was 5 years old. (Rather a while ago.) I was quite nervous.
But it helped to know that the person who put me under was so well trained, and would be monitoring everything the whole time. He could tell I was quite nervous, and he was very encouraging.
It makes a big difference, to know what a thorough job these people really do.
it sounds very interesting to me…. perhaps an antidote to my unreasonable phobia about anaesthetics
I can’t say my last two forays into anesthesia have been good things. My 20 minute epidural became the five day post-partum please-drill-a-hole-in-my-head headache and my husband’s general anesthesia for a minor operations led to three hours of nonstop throwing up.
Sounds like something we should have read.
This sounds like a very interesting book. My mom has been through quite a few surgeries and I think she may find the info in this book interesting enough to read it.
Hm…cool!