Reprint of the original, first published in 1882.

A senior surgeon suggests that many commonly performed operations are not necessary and that any benefits they offer are a placebo. For many complaints and conditions the benefits from surgery are lower, and the risks higher, than you or your surgeon think. In this book you will see how commonly performed operations can be found to be useless or even harmful when properly evaluated. Of course no surgeon is recommending invasive surgery in bad faith, but Ian Harris argues that the evidence for the success for many common operations, including knee arthroscopies, back fusion or cardiac stenting, become current accepted practice without full examination of the evidence. The placebo effect may be real, but is it worth the recovery time, expense and discomfort?

Backyard Poultry Medicine and Surgery is a practical resource offering guidance on developing diagnostic and treatment plans for individual companion poultry or small flocks. Organized by body system to aid in developing a differential diagnosis list for common presenting signs, the book provides all the information clinicians need to effectively treat backyard poultry. Written by experts from both the commercial poultry field and the companion avian field, the book provides thorough coverage of both common and less common diseases of backyard chickens, ducks, and other poultry. The book begins with introductory chapters covering general information, an overview of US laws, and basic husbandry concerns, then moves into specific disease chapters organized by system. The book takes an individual medicine perspective throughout, with photographs, radiographs, and histopathological photomicrographs to illustrate principles and diseases. Backyard Poultry Medicine and Surgery is an invaluable guide to diseases and treatments for any practitioners treating backyard poultry.