This atlas, containing a wealth of clear operative images, is designed to enable trainee surgeons to visualise the surgical field for procedures specific to open colorectal surgery, thereby facilitating understanding and learning of surgical techniques and avoidance of intra- and postoperative complications. Step-by-step guidance is provided for a wide range of procedures to the colon, rectum, pelvic floor, anus and anal canal, in each case paying meticulous attention to surgical anatomy. The full range of potential indications for open surgery is considered, including benign and malignant tumours, inflammatory bowel disease, appendicitis, diverticulitis, hemorrhoids, anal fistulas and rectal prolapse among others. Whenever considered necessary, additional line drawings are included to aid comprehension of particular steps in the surgery. Readers seeking to improve their understanding of surgical anatomy and how to perform these operative procedures will find the atlas to be an unparalleled source of information and assistance. A complementary book from the same authors focuses on laparoscopic colorectal surgery.

Werner Hohenberger is Full Professor of Surgery, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany and Chair of the Surgical Department at the same university, where he had got his degree in 1973. Beside his long teaching career, during which he also worked as visiting professor in many universities abroad, such as the Cleveland Clinics, Ohio, USA and the Peking University People's Hospital, China, he has been dedicating great efforts within scientific societies in the field surgical oncology, which remains his chief clinical interest:  He was President of the German Cancer Society, the German Cancer Congress, and Member of the Executive Committee of the German Senologic Society.