The impetus for this book came from the recent appearance of single specialty books pertaining to reoperative surgery on various organs in the pelvis, as well as from the recognition that several different disciplines are involved with the challenges of reoperative pelvic surgery. Surgeons often encounter challenging dilemmas involving organ systems that have historically been attended to by surgeons representing closely related but distinct specialty areas. With increasing sophistication and knowledge about management of anatomically adjacent organs by the specialties of gynecologic oncology, gynecology, urology, and colon and rectal surgery, as well as the emergence of specialty training programs in urogynecology and pelvic floor disorders, we thought it appropriate and timely to create a textbook acknowledging this increasing knowledge and interspecialty collaboration. To this end, where appropriate, we have included collaborative authors from each of the specialties, any of whom may be called upon to address a particular anatomic area. It seems inevitable that situations will arise in which the collaborative expertise of several separate specialties may converge to provide surgeons the benefit of the combined thought processes that would prove invaluable when such difficult problems are encountered.
With this in mind, the editors, from the fields of gynecologic oncology, urology, and colon and rectal surgery, identified experts in their own fields who could best contribute to the management of specific problem areas. For example, since reoperations for endometriosis may involve uterus, adnexae, ovaries, or the colorectum, the chapter concerning this condition has been coauthored by specialists in colorectal surgery and gynecologic oncology.
We have been fortunate to find experts who have collaborated to bring available evidence-based medicine, best demonstrated practices, and personal experience to their contributions. We are particularly indebted to Dr. Victor Fazio, who has given us an excellent overview of the principles of reoperative surgery, which are well worth reading carefully at any level of the reader’s education. We would also like to thank Dr. William Curtis, Annie Cimino, Paula Callaghan, and Margaret Burns, of Springer, for their interest in and hard work organizing and editing this milestone project.