The Manual of INTERNAL FIXATION is well known internationally as a standard work for every specialist dealing with osteosynthesis. Due to the many changes that have taken place, an international faculty of orthopaedic surgeons and traumatologists completely revised and expanded the manual. In its third edition the manual reflects the state of the art and is the necessary reference for every AO specialist.

This second revised and enlarged edition addresses current techniques concerned with the implementation of the AO/ASIF System in small animal orthopaedic surgery. Surgeons who have used the system over the years have now considerable knowledge and experience which they have made available in this text. The same individuals have designed and modified special implants which are now available to the Small Animal Orthopaedic Surgeon. Sections have been added or modified concerned with severe trauma, implant removal and a system for recording fracture type and treatment. The book will serve to inform the experienced surgeon of the current situation, and at the same time it is still a basic text for the newcomer to veterinary small animal orthopaedics in general and the AO/ASIF system in particular.

The rigid internaI fixation of mandibular fractures has become a widely ac cepted practice among European surgeons. The caution or even outright re jection voiced at a congress of the German Society of Maxillofacial Sur 1970s is no longer prevalent. Through a process of geons held in the late critical review and implementation, rigid internaI fixation has become an established treatment modality at numerous centers, especially in Switzer land, the Federal Republic of Germany, and the Netherlands. By comparison, the method has received very little attention in North America and the Anglo-Saxon countries. By and large, surgeons in these countries continue to treat mandibular fractures by intermaxillary fixation, possibly supplemented by the use of interosseous wires. Many recent edi tions of surgical texts confirm this. Lately, however, there appears to be a surge of interest in methods of functionally stable internaI fixation, especially in the United States of America, and AO/ ASIF instruction courses are increasingly in demand. This book is intended to aid course participants in their lessons and practi cal exercises and also to guide the clinical practitioner in the application of AO/ ASIF principles. Basel, September 1988 B.SPIESSL VII Acknowledgments I have received help from many sources. The colleagues of the past 20 years who have contributed to the case material upon which this manual is based are too numerous to credit by name.

This manual provides comprehensive information on the surgical techniques in internal fixation of fractures, in restoring tumour defects, and osteotomies in the craniofacial skeleton. Through detailed and instructive drawings together with clinical situations shown on x-rays it offers important guidelines for the surgeon in the operating room. The techniques are based on the general principles developed and continuously refined by the AO/ASIF group. This manual constitutes the written guideline of the surgical techniques as taught in the AO/ASIF courses and workshops throughout the world.

This is the first compendium of principles of using locking compression plates in fracture management. With more than 100 cases from world-leading surgeons, including the inventors of the technique, this book will guide orthopedic trauma surgeons, general orthopedists, and residents through applications of the internal fixator technique. Intraoperative photos and illustrations and an interactive DVD containing additional cases, animations, and videos makes this AO Manual an indispensable reference.

The second English-language edition of the Small Fragment Set Manual was enthusiastically received and quickly went into a second printing. In preparing a third edition, we found it necessary to revise the text extensively and partly restructure it. The reasons for this are numerous. Experience of recent years has brought technical refinements in the operative treatment of many types of small fracture. Many of these changes stem from the small-fragment-set training programs conducted in Switzerland since 1980, and also from courses and symposia that have been held in other European countries and the United States. These events were occasions for a fruitful ex change of experience with surgeons who were critical of our methods. As a result of this exchange, we perceived a need both to revise our indications and to give greater attention to alternative techniques. We also felt it necessary to respond to criticisms of the first two editions concerning the catalog-like instrument lists and illustrations, and the attention given to fundamental techniques. Many surgeons who work or would like to work with small implants, especially those practicing abroad, are inexperienced in operations on the larger bones. It is imperative that these colleagues be given a basic introduction to the "biomechanical thinking" of the Swiss Association for the Study of Internal Fixation (ASIF).

During their 20 years of activity members of the Associa tion for the Study of Internal Fixation (AO - ASIF) have made authoritative contributions to the development of internal and external fixation. The close collaboration of surgeons, basic researchers, metallurgists, engineers and the establishment of clinical documentation has made it possible to achieve a solid scientific basis for internal fixa tion. Clear definitions for the standardization of different types of osteosynthesis were possible: interfragmentary compression, splintage and buttressing as well as combina tions of these three techniques. At the same time a scienti fic and workmanlike instrumentation was developed. The idea was to keep diversification within limits but, however, to assemble a comprehensive collection of implants and in struments to answer all the problems presented by the com plexity of bone operations. Osteosynthesis is a difficult and demanding operative method. Its. claims on the surgeon and the theatre staff are high. Therefore plans have existed for a long time to supplement the "Manual of Internal Fixation" with a de tailed description of the AO Instrumentation, its use and maintenance. Our collaborator FRIDOLIN SEQUIN, graduate engineer, has accomplished this task with expert knowledge. He has organized over many years courses for theatre nurses and has been able from the resulting experience to provide helpful suggestions. When RIGMOR TEXHAMMAR R. N. joined AO-International four years ago, it was natural to include her as a co-author.