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It is with great pleasure we offer the second edition
of "Doppler Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecol
ogy" to our readers. We remain deeply appreciative
of the success of the first edition with its continuing
enthusiastic reception from our readers.
Impressive advances have occurred in diagnostic
Doppler sonography since the publication of the first
edition of the book. With the ever-increasing emphasis
on evidence-based medicine, the clinical applications of
fetal Doppler ultrasound have become progressively
more refined, although significant uncertainty still con
tinues in many areas, providing opportunities for fu
ture investigations. Ultrasound technology and instru
mentation have become increasingly more sophisti
cated and user friendly. Exciting technological innova
tions and breakthroughs, such as the emergence of real
time three-dimensional sonography, are offering huge
potentials for Doppler assessment of the cardiovascular
system. These advances have provided a powerful ratio
nale for bringing the book up to date so that it may con
tinue to serve our readers in the future. In this process,
we have comprehensively and critically examined the
information contained in the first edition, and revised
and expanded it as deemed appropriate.
The second edition now boasts 40 chapters, ex
panded from 34 chapters in the previous edition. This
results from the inclusion of eight new chapters and
condensation of three gynecology chapters into one.
In addition, there have been substantial revisions of
the other preexisting chapters. To give the readers an
overall sense of the contents, these changes are summa
rized here. The introductory chapters continue to deal
with the basic principles of Doppler sonography, he
modynamics, fetal and maternal cardiovascular phys
iology, and biosafety and have been extensively revised.
We have added two new chapters, one reviewing the ve
nous hemodynamics and the other dealing with three
dimensional color and power Doppler ultrasound. The
subsequent chapters have been significantly strength
ened by the addition of with six new chapters dealing
with the following topics: intrauterine blood flow; post
natal neurological development; clinical application of
cerebral Doppler sonography; Doppler ultrasound ex
aminations of the fetal coronary circulation, the umbi
lical venous flow, and the fetal pulmonary venous cir
culation; four-dimensional B-mode and color Doppler
fetal echocardiography; and three-dimensional Dop
pler sonography in gynecology. The three previous
separate chapters on Doppler ultrasound for benign
gynecological disorders, ectopic pregnancy, and infer
tility have been combined into one single more cohe
sive and concise chapter. After implementation of these
additions and revisions, the book now has 521 illustra
tions and 112 tables. Moreover, all the illustrations in cluding the color plates are now incorporated in the
text, which should significantly improve the ease of
perusal for our readers.
In this complex and extensive endeavor, we have
been greatly assisted by internationally recognized ex
perts in the field who have generously and enthusiasti
cally participated in this venture despite their enor
mous responsibilities and hectic schedules. I am truly
obliged to my colleagues who were instrumental in
making the first edition a success and who have up
dated their chapters for the second edition to reflect
the changes that have developed in their areas of exper
tise. I am particularly indebted to those authors who, in
addition to updating their chapters from the first edi
tion, have kindly contributed new chapters. I take this
opportunity to welcome the 23 new authors who have
substantially contributed to enriching this edition. As
well as those authors who have added new chapters
to the book, several of the new authors have rewritten
and updated chapters from the first edition. I am truly
grateful to Dr. Ivica Zalud for his professional and edi
torial assistance in reorganizing and updating the
chapters on gynecological Doppler ultrasound. I re
main forever indebted to all my distinguished collea
gues not only for their support in making this second
edition a reality but also for their scholarly activities
that continue to energize the progress in this field.
Finally, all our efforts will be worthwhile if our
readers find this new edition of the book useful and
stimulating for their education and clinical practice.
It would be especially gratifying if the contents in
spire and assist new investigations that make further
progress in the development of Doppler sonography
with the aim of improving women's health.
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