The AO Surgery Reference on January 19, 2021 unveiled its new periprosthetic knee module. Made possible by the contributions of dedicated AO faculty members, the module features about 140 pages of high-value content enriched by 600 illustrations.
The content is particularly relevant to orthopedic trauma and reconstructive surgeons—including those in the AO Trauma and AO Recon networks—who are early in their careers or maintain a general practice profile and are called on to manage periprosthetic knee fractures. The new module includes three subsections:
The module also includes value-adding information about preoperative patient evaluation, the AO/Orthopaedic Trauma Association (AO/OTA) Fracture and Dislocation Classification Compendium and Unified Classification System of Periprosthetic Fractures (UCPF), and special considerations.
“We believe the AO Surgery Reference knee module on periprosthetic fractures should be the first resource to employ when injured patients with this fracture present,” Baumgaertner said. “Many times, it will be the only reference required.”
Spearheading the module’s development over a two-year period were authors/experts Michael Huo, Michael Leslie, and Iain McFadyen, supported by Baumgaertner as executive editor.
The debut of the new module extends the relevance of the AO Surgery Reference, which in late 2020 was honored with five of top-tier awards:
The AO Surgery Reference, launched in early 2005 with just a handful of anatomical region modules, today is a rich, widely consulted, and award-winning resource covering orthopedic trauma (including pediatrics), spine, craniomaxillofacial, and veterinary specialties, and attracting as many as 50,000 visitors per week. Since 2005, around 170 surgeons worldwide have contributed—as authors and editors—to the AO Surgery Reference’s high-value content.
Moreover, as an online resource, the AO Surgery Reference is continuously evolving to meet surgeons’ needs: In early 2020, the website was completely redesigned, and in the first quarter of 2021, the AO Surgery Reference team is conducting useability testing to gauge possible further improvements to the site.
