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Many patients undergoing surgery have a chronic medical disorder unrelated to the surgical problem. These can present major difficulties for inexperienced surgical house staff and junior anaesthetists working unsupervised, most of whom will have had little or no experience in dealing with such problems. Perioperative medicine provides practical guidelines on the management of all the common medical conditions likely to be encountered in routine surgical and anaesthetic practice. The first section addresses a range of general issues that can arise on surgical wards when patients with complex medical problems are being prepared for operation, such as obtaining informed consent. The book then provides simple protocols for the safe care of patients with underlying medical problems on surgical wards, with special focus on the risks that various conditions pose for surgery and anaesthesia. The third part of the book looks at the diagnosis and management of medical complications in the post-operative period. References for further reading are provided throughout. This will prove an essential book for junior surgeons and anaesthetists to keep by their sides at all times.