Book excerpt: Much anticipated, the Second Edition of Surgery: Basic Science and Clinical Evidence features fully revised and updated information on the evidence-based practice of surgery, including significant new sections on trauma and critical care and the often challenging surgical care of unique populations, including elderly, pediatric, immunocompromised, and obese patients as well as timely new chapters on the pre- and post-operative care of the cardiac surgery patient, intestinal transplantation, surgical infections, the fundamentals of cancer genetics and proteomics. Also new to this edition are discussions of electrosurgical instruments, robotics, imaging modalities, and other emerging technologies influencing the modern practice of surgery. Clinically focused sections in gastrointestinal, vascular, cardiothoracic, transplant, and cancer surgery enable the surgeon to make decisions based upon the most relevant data in modern surgical practice. The text is enhanced by more than 1,000 illustrations and hundreds of the signature evidence-based tables that made the first edition of SURGERY an instant classic.