Includes References and Index

The specialty of foot and ankle surgery is a diverse amalgamation of orthopedic surgical principles, biomechanics and kinesiology, sports medicine, physical therapy and rehabilitation, as well as the psychology of patient and
surgeon expectations. This is also a unique specialty because surgeons of
different training backgrounds, including Doctors of Podiatric Medicine
(DPM), Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (DO), and Doctors of Allopathic
Medicine (MD), practice it nationally and internationally. It is our belief that
when knowledge and experience is shared among these diverse surgeons, the
specialty of foot and ankle surgery, and ultimately patient care, continues to
improve. It is for these reasons that we have brought together these surgeons
and past fellows to produce this innovative and unique text.
This textbook is a reflection of our unique foot and ankle specialty practice and our surgical fellowship program at The Orthopedic Foot and Ankle
Center in Columbus, Ohio. Our practice is comprised of fellowship-trained
MD, DO, and DPM foot and ankle surgeons dedicated to the subspecialty
of foot and ankle surgery. We practice in a fully collaborative environment
encompassing all aspects of education, research, and patient care—with the
primary goal of constantly improving patient care and surgical outcomes.
We continue to “spread the word” nationally and internationally through
our interaction with other surgeon colleagues and are humbled to see many
like-minded surgeons who understand the benefit of this collaborative
approach.
We are honored to have our dear friends, mentors, and world-renowned
giants in foot and ankle surgery—Drs. Robert Anderson and Hodges Davis—
contribute the Foreword of this text. We individually and collectively learned
so much from them both; thus, it is an absolute honor to have their words of
wisdom attached to this textbook.
In this text, we have tried to reveal our unique multidisciplinary perspective and approach to the most common foot and ankle surgical topics. We
believe that both careful preoperative planning and discussion among the
treatment team are key tenets of our multidisciplinary approach. This leads
to deliberate and careful consideration of operative efficiency and excellence
so that the day of surgery is simply the execution of a well-thought-out plan.
You will note “callouts” throughout the text of key steps and operative
“pearls” to assist with the efficiency and performance of critical surgical
steps. This textbook is not meant to be a historical review or an all-encompassing
encyclopedia of foot and ankle pathologies; rather, it is a careful description
of current techniques and approaches to the most common surgical treatments.
We have attempted to reveal “what works well in our hands” and the evolution of techniques that produce consistently successful outcomes. We hope
you find the direct and focused approach refreshingly practical and useful in
the care of your patients.