Ernest Amory Codman. The End Result of a Life in Medicine.
William J. Mallon. Philadelphia, W. B. Saunders, 1999. $65.00, 195
pp.
This book is a must for shoulder surgeons and an important contribution
for all orthopaedists who have an interest in the care and treatment
of shoulder problems.
Bill Mallon, an orthopaedist and trained practicing shoulder
surgeon, presents the life of E. A. Codman in great detail. Dr.
Codman is obviously one of Mallon's heroes; he meticulously describes Codman's
childhood, education, practice, and early interest in the shoulder.
Dr. Codman was a general surgeon and a founding member of the American
College of Surgeons. He published extensively on the care of duodenal
ulcers, bone sarcomas, the use of x-rays, and anesthesia. Even as
a young physician, he was internationally famous.
However, it was Codman's publications on the rotator cuff and
his text, The Shoulder. Rupture of the Supraspinatus Tendon and
Other Lesions in or About the Subacromial Bursa, that have endeared him
to the hearts of orthopaedists worldwide. As an orthopaedic shoulder
surgeon, I am privileged to have one of the original 1000 copies
of that book, which was first published in 1934. Although I have
referred to it for the past thirty-nine years, I admit that I have
had some problems, because of the indexing, in locating specific
information about various shoulder problems. Mallon's book has helped
me in this regard; in chapter 11, the author reviews the key chapters
of Codman's text and explains Codman's concepts on the treatment of
the subacromial bursa, arthritis, the nonoperative and operative
treatment of ruptures and lesions of the rotator cuff, tendinitis,
fractures, lesions of the brachial plexus, tumors, and rare lesions
about the shoulder.
The medical subject that was probably most dear to Dr. Codman
was his interest in the creation of a follow-up system for recording
the course of a disease or injury and documenting the methods of treatment
and their outcome. Current outcome studies represent the "end result
ideas" of Codman.
Mallon is a superb writer, and I enjoyed the easy-reading style
of this book. The life of Codman is covered clearly, concisely,
and completely in this jewel of a text, which should be read by
every shoulder surgeon.
Charles A. Rockwood, Jr., M.D.Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas