Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics

Abstract

Soon after its introduction by Willis C. Campbell in 1939, this text became the classic treatise on operative orthopedics. Subsequent editors, including the present one, Dr Crenshaw, continued to generate the tremendous dedication necessary to maintain the book's enviable status. Now, as a five-volume "course" in orthopedic surgery written by numerous members of the staff of Campbell Clinic, this monumental work, as usual, includes much more than operative technique. In a reproduction of the preface to the first edition, Dr Campbell notes that "the title of this book,<i>Operative Orthopaedics</i>, is not intended to convey the impression that the chief, or most important, method of treatment of orthopaedic affections is open surgery—the majority are successfully treated by more conservative means." In this day of rapid innovations, when technology has frequently submerged rationality and the scientific approach, we should all heed this admonition if we hope to avoid a fate wherein