My fi rst reaction to a request from Professor Nisar Chowdri to write a foreword for his book entitled Benign Anorectal Disorders was of sheer delight because someone with his background and reputation was undertaking a project necessary in institutions in India. Colorectal surgery is making such dynamic strides that any contribution to update various techniques is laudatory.

The Benign Anorectal Disorders book has encompassed all of the anorec- tal disorders from surgical anatomy and physiology to the common disorders including a chapter on benign tumors of anorectum. Professor Chowdri has solicited a galaxy of contributing authors who are recognized giants in the fi eld of colorectal surgery across India. The various chapters, particularly the one on hemorrhoids, anal fi ssure, and the perianal sepsis fi stula, are compre­hensive with the updated material right up to the latest publications. Unfortunately, it becomes necessary in a textbook such as this to include the procedures that are outdated and are of historical signifi cance only. However, an attempt has been made by the authors to separate the wheat from the chaff and given appropriate prominence to the necessary interventions.

The book will address the needs of surgical residents, general surgeons, and colorectal surgeons. Realizing that much of the anorectal surgery in dif­ferent parts of the country is performed by general surgeons, this book will be particularly useful for the specialists.

I am honored to present this foreword to introduce the monumental task that Professor Chowdri from Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences in Srinagar has undertaken and has done it admirably.

Indru T. Khubchandani, MD, MS, FRCS, FACS, FASCRS, FICS (Hon)

It gives me immense pleasure and satisfaction on completion of editing this book Benign Anorectal Disorders: Approach to Diagnosis and Management , a dream in my life. When I took this project, I was not aware of the diffi culties, but thanks to the almighty, with whose grace I have been able to complete this book which took me more than a year, much beyond my expectations.

Benign anorectal disorders are of great concern not only to the patient but also pose a great challenge to surgeons. This is because of the fact that symp­toms associated with anorectal diseases are not only distressing but also alarming to the patient. Any surgical intervention in this part of the gastroin­testinal tract may be associated with lifelong disabilities like incontinence. The complex anatomy of this region makes surgery all the more diffi cult.

Mr Naren Aggarwal, Executive Editor, Clinical Medicine, Springer, has been kind enough to give me the opportunity to write this book. I am highly indebted to him for his profi cient guidance from time to time.

Our thanks are due to Mr Javid Hussain for his experienced skills to com­pute this book. My family and friends have been a source of great encourage­ment for me, and probably without their encouragement, love, and affection, it would have not been possible to take this project to completion.

The quality of life and surgical results have improved in the hands of dedi­cated colorectal specialists in the last two decades. With the increase in scope of this surgical subspecialty, more and more surgeons are getting attracted toward it and trying hard for specialized training in this branch of surgery. There is a lot of literature and text focusing on colorectal malignancies avail­able, but it is diffi cult to fi nd a book in the market which really deals with benign colorectal diseases in detail. Therefore, it was thought worthwhile to publish a book on benign colorectal diseases which can be of help to all post­graduates, fellows of colorectal surgery, postdoctoral students, and all clini­cians practicing colorectal surgery. We tried our level best to get the book chapters authored by the masters in the fi eld. We are thankful to all the great contributors who made this dream come true through their valuable contribu­tion. We have also tried to keep the language very simple and hope that read­ers will fi nd this book quite interesting and helpful in taking exams and their clinical practice. It is expected to further their knowledge and skill in the fi eld of colorectal surgery.

MS, FICS, FACRSI, FMAS, FACS