SICOT e-Newsletter

Issue No. 12 - September 2009

Book Review

Orthopedic Traumatology - A Resident’s Guide

Second Edition by David Ip
Springer Verlag, Berlin – Heidelberg, 2008
ISBN: 978-3-540-75860-0
Hardcover, €: xxx; pp 675; 205 Figures, 3 Tables

The handbook, Orthopedic Traumatology - A Resident’s Guide, is intended to be a quick guide not only for trauma specialists but also for general orthopaedic surgeons, residents preparing for exams, physiotherapists, and other health care executives interested in orthopaedic traumatology. Accidents resulting in polytrauma are among the leading causes of death in the young (<40-year-olds) and can have major socioeconomic consequences. Poor management of trauma can worsen morbidity and increase mortality. Trauma care is among the most rapidly growing branches of surgery and, therefore, a sound knowledge of the state of the art in musculoskeletal traumatology is essential. It can be found in this guide, which integrates evidence-based knowledge with up-to-date literature.

Dr David Ip has divided the book into 15 chapters and each chapter is subdivided into well organised sections, every part of which being presented in a succinct but very informative manner.

The section “Ten Questions for Residents” is particularly good, and is usually missing in other books. It gives the answers to common questions which otherwise would need hours to search for and about which one might still be confused. After a description of different surgical approaches, peri- and postoperative management and common complications, are well presented, although for some fractures the period of immobilisation and weight bearing is missing. That could be added in a ‘next edition’. The main topic “High Energy Trauma Management” includes aspects of trauma triage, concepts of damage control, special considerations for pelvic injuries, their classification, the body’s response to severe trauma and MODS (multi-organ dysfunction syndrome). Severe head injury, long bone fractures, and limb salvage in severe limb injury are well described. Much thought is given to the increasingly high speed RTA (road traffic accidents) in the younger population now occurring with a greater challenge for treatment and salvage.

The chapter, “New Paradigm Shift in Osteoporosis Management for Orthopods”, starts with the definition of osteoporosis, the T-score, the latest WHO Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (WHO-FRAT), concepts of relative versus absolute risk and a summary of management guidelines. The need for a proper, systematic referral mechanism or programme for secondary fragility fracture reduction is presented together with a new approach to fracture risk reduction.

The last major topics are “Pediatric Trauma” and “Modern Geriatric Hip Fracture Rehabilitation Protocol”. Both are very well organised. The book ends with the treatment of postoperative complications and provides information on outcome assessment in injured patients.

Dr David Ip has created in this book a particular format to give the reader a short but firm grounding in the basic knowledge and general principles of traumatology. The didactic concept in all chapters follows three fundamental principles of sustainable learning, i.e.: (1) less is more, (2) repetition enhances sustained learning, and (3) treatment options for different scenarios, which is an efficient and complementary means of learning. Each chapter starts with core messages and goes on to in-depth reading. Short and point-by-point descriptions of the most important elements of diagnosis, treatment options, and prevention, facilitate learning by repetition. Outstanding quality of figures illustrates and exemplifies essential knowledge. Tables summarise important facts such as classifications, treatment objectives and indications for treatment. The key principle in each topic informs the reader of what is and is not to be done. It provides teaching objectives and a quick overview for the busy reader. Finally, references and key articles provide a library for further reading.

The editor has tackled every aspect of Traumatology in a well balanced way. The book fulfils the intended purpose of being a new, easily readable handbook – a quick review tool that focuses systematically on the fundamentals and basic principles of diagnosis, treatment and prevention in a standardised manner. For this reason, the handbook Orthopedic Traumatology - A Resident’s Guide, written and edited by David Ip, can be strongly recommended reading for everyone interested in orthopaedic trauma care and as a quick up-to date review tool for those who are preparing for orthopaedic related exams.

Review written by Dr Emal Wardak