Preface

Almost 75 years ago Willis Cahoon Campbell wrote his Textbook on Orthopaedic Surgery. The first edition of Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics was published in 1939.We are now celebrating the tenth edition of the text.

The growth of the field of orthopaedic surgery has been paralleled by the growth of Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics. The enormous advances in our understanding of orthopaedic conditions and in the devices and techniques used to treat them were made possible by pioneer physicians in orthopaedics, many of whom also were contributors to earlier editions of Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics. Although Campbell alone wrote and edited the first edition, he soon had admirable help from partners such as Speed, Knight, Smith, Boyd, and Crenshaw and also from others outside the Campbell Clinic such as Smith-Peterson, Aufranc, Bateman, and Slocum. This tenth edition is deeply indebted to all those past and present contributors to this text.

All of us in the field of orthopaedic surgery can be proud because of the significant advances and contributions made in the areas of arthroscopy and arthroplasty and in the subspecialties of sports medicine, hand, foot, pediatrics, joint reconstruction, and rehabilitation. The inventions and innovations in each of these areas have lessened the burden of disease on our patients and will do so even more in the future. As a result of the ever-expanding knowledge and experience of orthopaedic surgeons, in past editions and especially in this edition, Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics has tried to describe the most useful of these operative advances. We have not aspired to be the first to "pick up the sword," nor have we wanted to be the last to "drop the shield."We have attempted to include the mainstream, proven techniques, along with some of the promising cutting-edge techniques and even some of the older techniques that may be applicable to areas of the world where the latest technology is unavailable.

In keeping up with the times and changing technology, this edition includes a CD-ROM with videos that demonstrate commonly performed orthopaedic operations. Also, the content of the four-volume set is available both in print and on a CD-ROM. Finally, key techniques in Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics are available in seven handheld (PDA) modules: adult reconstruction, congenital anomalies and pediatrics, spine, sports medicine and arthroscopy, hand, ankle and foot, and trauma.

Several other new features have been added to this edition. Techniques are numbered within each chapter, and all techniques in each volume are listed on the front and back endsheets for quick reference. Key references in the exhaustive reference lists are highlighted in boldface type. CD-ROM icons within the text indicate that the technique being described also is demonstrated on the video CD.

The publishing of a new edition of Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics every 6 or 7 years means that the minute one edition is completed, even while the presses are still hot, we start working on the next edition. People often ask me how we can turn out almost 5000 pages of text with nearly 10,000 illustrations every 5 or 6 years. My answer is easy and can be summed up in four words: Kay, Linda, Barry, and Joan. Without the hard work of Kay Daugherty, Linda Jones, Barry Burns, and Joan Crowson, this book would not be 75 years old.

S.T. Canale