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© 1999 The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc.
SURGERY OF THE ELBOW—PRACTICAL AND SCIENTIFIC ASPECTS. Edited by David Stanley and Neville R. M. Kay. New York, Oxford University Press, 1998. $175.00, 402 pp.The stated purpose of this book is to provide insight into the technically challenging treatment of problems of the elbow. Stanley is a well recognized clinical authority on this subject in the United Kingdom. The inclusion of authors from Europe, the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, and Australia gives the book an international perspective. The text is basically a synthesis of information that already has been reported in the literature. There are more extensive and comprehensive textbooks dealing with the elbow joint, and this book does not substantially expand on the existing knowledge base. Nonetheless, it represents an excellent effort to condense and summarize the current thought regarding operative treatment of the elbow. The text is organized in a logical fashion, similar to that of other texts dealing with the elbow. There are five discrete areas of focus: assessment and initial operative approaches to the elbow (seven chapters); fractures in children (three chapters); trauma, including tendon injuries, in adults (five chapters); sports-related injuries (three chapters); and pathological conditions and elective procedures (ten chapters). Most of the chapters are short and concise, with a limited focus. The references, for the most part, are discrete and focused. The artwork is uniform albeit simple. The line drawings facilitate a reasonable comprehension of the point being illustrated. A section of color plates considerably enhances the reader's appreciation of the operative techniques described in several chapters. Overall, this book is well organized and provides a concise, effective overview of a complex joint. In almost all instances, the material reflects the personality and expertise of the authors. There is a strong tendency for the authors to provide their own insights and approach to a given problem. This tendency is helpful insofar as most of the authors are well recognized in their field. However, some chapters suffer from a lack of breadth and depth, with relatively little information on other options being presented. Complications are discussed, but there is a lack of information on how to avoid them. As in any multiauthored text, various subjects are disproportionately emphasized. Thus, the medical treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, which is an important issue (although probably less so to a surgeon), is covered in fourteen pages, whereas traumatic conditions of the distal aspect of the humerus, which is the subject of an enormous volume of literature, are covered in only twelve. Synovectomy is discussed without reference to arthroscopy. Despite these shortcomings, I found this book to be worthwhile. It is an effective condensation of the existing body of knowledge, and it should be of value to the student and the established surgeon.
Bernard F. Morrey, M.D. Department of Orthopedic Surgery Mayo Clinic Rochester, Minnesota
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