Harold B. Kitaoka, editor. Deborah Ravin, illustrator. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins; 2002. 678 pages. $199.00.
From ingrown toenails to major reconstruction of the hindfoot, and from elective procedures on the lesser toes to the treatment of open pilon fractures, Dr. Harold Kitaoka has doubly expanded Dr. Kenneth Johnson's first edition of this book, taking it to the next level. This is a book for the subspecialist as well as the general orthopaedist. Its high quality and unique diagnosis-and-procedure-oriented text is a great addition to the entire
Master Techniques series, edited by Roby Thompson, MD.
This book describes the surgical negotiation of the ankle, the hindfoot, the midfoot, and the forefoot in current terms and text and through better-than-average color pictures. Content overlap, although inevitable, is minimized by accurate editing and triage of topics as well as by the avoidance of disease-specific approaches and procedures. Thus, the chapters have enough detail and depth to avoid a cookbook image.
Dr. Kitaoka has authored or coauthored seven of the forty-three chapters. His editorial suggestions successfully keep the remaining chapters in harmony in terms of style and content. The preferences of the many authors surface as the procedures are detailed and, while the authors' methods are not the "only proper way to do it," they are virtually all mainstream and appropriately referenced. There is the occasional comment regarding procedures that are "not done anymore."
The photographs and figures, especially when paralleled and augmented by companion sketches or C-arm images, are of high quality and are well explained within the text. The color figures, pictures, and graphics are equal in quality to those found in Dr. Johnson's first edition.
Certain topics could have received greater emphasis: (1) the derotation potential that is available with the Akin osteotomy but that is unavailable with a distal metatarsal osteotomy; (2) the part that radiographic positioning plays in preoperative planning, particularly with regard to metatarsophalangeal joint pathology; (3) the importance of "examination under anesthesia"; and (4) the use of posterior exposure of the tibiotalocalcaneal joints for bypass purposes when osteonecrosis of the talus is present. There is an emphasis, and rightly so, on anatomy; the coverage of Morton's neuroma is a good example.
This book should have a lead spot on the library shelf of every orthopaedic teaching program and should be kept immediately at hand by any general or subspecialty orthopaedist who performs foot and ankle surgery. The tone is authoritative, the composition is user friendly, and the book is, in general, "a good read." In addition to offering straightforward guidance on surgical procedure, it is a reference text for selective diagnoses as well as a ready reference/review text in preparing for upcoming surgery. An excellent teaching tool, even for patients, this book comes highly recommended.