Although several comprehensive textbooks on pediatric orthopaedic surgery
are available, few of them relate specifically to pediatric hip disorders.
This multiauthored textbook provides a thorough description of the numerous
childhood disorders that affect the hip, several of which are associated with
lifelong sequelae. It provides the authoritative experience of a number of
pediatric orthopaedic surgeons and covers the entire range of pediatric hip
disorders, describing the etiology, presentation, diagnosis, treatment, and
range of outcomes.
The editors have extensive experience in the treatment of infants,
children, and young adults with pediatric hip disorders. John Banta is the
Emeritus Chief of Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of
Connecticut School of Medicine in Farmington, Connecticut, and the former
Chief of Orthopaedic Surgery at Newington Children's Hospital and Connecticut
Children's Hospital. David Scrutton is an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the
Institute of Child Health at University College London and at Guy's Hospital
and St. Thomas' Hospital at King's College London.
The textbook is part of the Mac Keith Press series Clinics in
Developmental Medicine (number 160), written for medical professionals
whose practice includes the care of infants, children, and young adults. As
such, it will be valuable to general practitioners, pediatricians,
physiotherapists, occupational therapists, nurses, orthopaedic surgeons, and
pediatric orthopaedic surgeons. Most of the chapter authors are orthopaedic
surgeons, yet this is not a book on orthopaedic surgery. Rather, it addresses
the information that clinicians, in general, need to know about the developing
hip joint. This textbook will thus be of great value to general physicians or
pediatricians who frequently need to evaluate a "limping child" or
a child with hip pain, and it will also serve as an excellent reference for
clinicians as it addresses both the common and the less common disorders that
can affect the hip joints of children of various ages.
This very practical textbook begins with chapters on anatomy, physical
examination, and radiology of the hip and then proceeds to chapters on
specific conditions, such as developmental dysplasia of the hip, painful hip
joint, slipped capital femoral epiphysis, Perthes disease, epiphyseal
dysplasias, trauma, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, cerebral palsy,
myelomeningocele, muscle weakness disorders, and "unusual
disorders." The book also includes a chapter on gait analysis, which
provides information on the documentation and understanding of both normal and
abnormal hip function, and a chapter on the orthotic management of hip
diseases.
The coverage of each topic is complete and includes practical, clear
examples and extensive, well-reproduced line drawings, clinical photos,
radiographs, tables, and other imaging studies. While the points made in the
specific chapters are usually in agreement with well-accepted teaching, the
textbook does address some of the more controversial areas within pediatric
orthopaedics, describing multiple views relating to the controversy as well as
the authors' recommended treatment.
This well-written, well-illustrated, hardbound textbook is one that general
practitioners, therapists, pediatricians, orthopaedic surgeons, and
subspecialists in orthopaedic surgery will most certainly want to have in
their library. The composition of the book is excellent, and the printing and
binding are of high quality. Furthermore, because specialized knowledge or
expertise regarding hip disorders in childhood is not necessary to appreciate
this book, it will be a valuable reference for students, residents, and
fellows as they pursue the study of orthopaedic surgery.