Dr. Fun-Sun Yao, professor of Clinical Anesthesiology, has been on the faculty of Weill Cornell Medical College for 43 years. And for nearly as long, since 1983, the "Anesthesiology" textbook he co-authored with Dr. Joseph F. Artusio, Jr., founding chair of the Department of Anesthesiology, has been required reading for scores of anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists as they prepare for board exams.
Dr. Fun-Sun Yao
On April 15, the eighth edition of "Yao and Artusio's Anesthesiology: Problem-Oriented Patient Management" was released.
The new edition reflects important advances in surgical procedures and in the clinical practice of anesthesiology, writes Dr. Yao in the preface. About a quarter of the 1,200-page volume features new chapters on topics such as Ventricular Assist Devices, or contributions by new authors including international contributors.
"Now we have 77 contributors," says Dr. Yao, noting that there were six authors at the start. The clinical experience of Weill Cornell Anesthesiology physicians is represented with 50 department members contributing chapters. Drs. Vinod Malhotra, Jill Fong and Nikolaos Skubas are associate editors.
Like its popular predecessor, the eighth edition presents more than 60 real-world cases followed by essential problems of each disease in question and answer format. "It's very clincial, very practical," states Dr. Yao. "If it's just theory, I don't put it in."
Dr. Yao is pleased when readers tell him that the textbook helped them study for the board exams. But his real satisfaction comes from making a difference in patient care.
"Helping anesthesiologists to take good care of patients, that's the most important," he says. "Indirectly, I think I'm helping the patient through other anesthesiologists."