Reconstructive Foot and Ankle Surgery. By Mark S. Myerson, MD. 500 pages, illustrated; 30 companion video clips included on a DVD-ROM. Elsevier Saunders, Philadelphia, 2005. $199.00.
This profusely illustrated text joins the latest surge of foot and ankle surgery books that focus on techniques. The book is a very personalized description of the technical aspects of how one experienced specialty-focused orthopedic surgeon performs day-to-day foot and ankle procedures. The contents are based on a career of knowledge accumulated through learning, teaching, and interacting with like-minded surgeons. It provides ongoing but rather limited insights into the decision making that guides him through various surgeries involving the foot and ankle, as well as step-by-step descriptions of the procedures. Do not expect the information to be specifically referenced to research data or outcomes. There are instead a few “Suggested Readings” at the end of some of the chapters.
The book is organized into 14 sections that encompass 30 chapters. There is a “Techniques, Tips, Pitfalls” section in each chapter that is a highly personalized set of hints based on the author’s experience that have presumably led to better results in his patients. In particular, the author provides some very helpful insights into the more complex reconstructive surgical procedures involving flatfoot, ankle pathology, tendinopathy, and great toe joint pathology. Thirty narrated video clips on an included DVD-ROM are a welcome bonus.
Although the surgical procedures are generously illustrated throughout the book by means of color photographs, the pictures are sometimes of poor color quality, as in the chapter on the modified Ludloff metatarsal osteotomy. Moreover, the orientation of the foot in some of the photographs can be challenging to the reader. Some are upside down, while others are sideways or oriented differently from the accompanying radiographs. The radiographs are abundant, have good contrast, and are of fairly good quality throughout the text. Unfortunately, there is a frustrating lack of follow-up x-rays and clinical photographs to illustrate the outcomes of the described procedures.
Occasionally, an important step is omitted in the description of a surgical technique, leaving the reader a bit perplexed. Nevertheless, the book is a valuable practical resource for the foot and ankle surgeon at all levels of training and experience. The ideas are welcome in a still-emerging specialty that has a history of being underappreciated.
