The third edition of this book comes after a gap of seven years with title changed from Operative Orthopaedics to Orthopaedic surgery, may be just to dispel the impression that the book is not an operative manual but Orthopaedic text book. The book has 180 chapters under nine sections with contribution from 248 authors. The presentation of each chapter is very methodical covering systematically the anatomy, physiology, biomechanics, patho-physiology, diagnostic evaluation, non operative treatment, operative management, summary/conclusion. The presentation of the chapter is in excellent format with sub titles in blue fonts and easy to read. The clinical and operative procedures are depicted stepwise by B&W photographs and line drawings, most of which are from monograms and classic books. The authors have used the illustrations, tables, summary boxes, bulleted lists and diagrams very freely in two colour formats to make the subject easy to understand, in all, there are about 5970 illustrations. They have used the treatment algorithms frequently to make the complicated treatment plan, simple and easy to remember. The authors have highlighted the pitfalls and complications in each chapter and have provided their own views in author's perspective and author's preferred method of management. The hints and tricks that appear in some of the chapters are very valuable tips for the young surgeon to avoid complications, which one learns from experience. The unique aspect of this book is that the authors have categorized the references into groups like classic article, review article, basic research article and clinical results and outcome study are annotated with symbols for easy recognition.
A free CD-ROM that comes with this book has to be procured from the publisher (from USA) which itself takes two to three months. This CD-Rom has advanced search engine that helps to browse through the text, tables, figures and references. The book-marking feature helps you to visit your favourite topics. The hypertext link helps you to scan the other chapter without losing your contact with your original page. There is zoom facility for figures, print feature, helps you to take illustrations for your classroom lectures/clinics. CD-Rom provides access to pubmed and internet resources. The website www.com/chapman will provide supplemental material in future. This book is recommended for all postgraduates, and practising Orthopaedic surgeons.