Book reviews

Shoulder arthroplasty

Louis U Bigliani and Evan L Flatow, 220 pages, Springer Verlag, Germany 2005

ISBN 0-387-22336-3

With such well-known and experienced authors, it is easy to expect that their book should be something extraordinary. It was therefore perhaps with a certain amount of disappointment that I studied this new publication. However, the book covers the topic of shoulder replacement in an excellent way if you are looking for basic information from an American point of view. The late Ian Kelly was the only European contributor. You should really see the book as a basic publication on how to perform a replacement of the shoulder joint, and if you follow the recommendations you will avoid many of the mistakes still being made today.

The basic surgical principles are well described, and this also applies to routine practical management of soft tissues. These are probably the most important and didactic parts of the book. After all, shoulder replacement is more of a soft tissue procedure than implantation of hardware, and an understanding of soft tissue handling is therefore essential. For example, detachment and refixation of the subscapularis muscle is well described in several chapters.

It is difficult to appreciate details in a black-and-white photograph taken during a surgical procedure. There are color photos, but the book would benefit from having color photos only instead of having nearly 200 illustrations (which is positive), but only 30 of them in full color.

There are topics which I think should have been included in this otherwise very worthwhile publication. The reversed prostheses are hardly mentioned in the chapter on revision surgery, and they are not included at all when discussing rotator cuff arthropathy, which are (to my mind) two of the main indications for reversed prosthesis.

The chapter on rehabilitation is well written, with many drawings and tables. I am not sure that I agree with the statement that hemiarthroplasties following a proximal humeral fracture should be treated with early motion and active, albeit assisted, range of motion 2 to 3 weeks after surgery.

This book is very useful in showing the basic principles to consider when doing hemi- and total shoulder replacement on various types of patients. Many practical tips and tricks are given. If you have already read the book of Gilles Walch and co-workers but need something different—this is the book for you.