This is an era of explosion of information and ad- vancement of technologies. The surgical sciences are by no means excluded. Although the basic principles remain mostly unchanged, the applica- tions of new technologies in modern surgical treatment are always appealing. There have been many advances in the treatment of long bone fractures in recent years. These include new mate- rials available, new applied technologies, and ad- vances in the understanding of the pathology and biology of fracture healing. The understanding of this emerging knowledge and the acquiring of the new technologies will keep us up to the modern standards of fracture management. We believe that the present volume of Practice of Intramedul- lary Locked Nails is a timely update of all this in- formation to help our readers to catch up with the rapid advancement in the practice of fracture care.
This book is the third volume of Practice of In- tramedullary Locked Nails, with special focus on the recent advancement in the understanding of the biology of healing of fractures of the long bones, the emerging technologies that further en-
hance the minimally invasive nature of closed treatment of fractures and the availability of var- ious surgical techniques in intramedullary fixa- tion. The contributors to this volume are from different well-known trauma centres and they are the pioneer surgeons in the development and practice of intramedullary locked nails.
In this volume, the understanding of fracture healing in a closed treatment is further depicted through molecular biology studies, new systems, new materials and new technology; in particular, the application of computer-aided surgical tech- niques is discussed thoroughly. The application of new technology in the prevention of infection and the application of intramedullary fixation of frac- tures in paediatric and adolescent patients are also described.
We believe that the pursuit of perfection in sur- gical techniques, the joy of acquiring new knowl- edge and witnessing the improvement in patient care are most satisfying to surgeons. The funda- mental requirement of lifelong learning in our profession was also one of the major encourage- ments to all the contributors of this volume.
CHAPTER 1.1
Introduction
K.-S. Leung, G. Taglang, R. Schnettler
