McGlamry's Foot and Ankle Surgery, 5th edition: A Review

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DexterMorganSK

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Got the 5th edition earlier this week, and I am very impressed with it so far. I used the previous edition extensively from the 2nd year of Pod school, and it has served me well in the OR and the clinics. If you got a copy of the new edition, what do you think of it so far?

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Small thing - I would warn anyone who buys a kindle or online version to be VERY careful. No experience with the current but I have online texts that are perfect / high quality / zoomable images where you can see every layer and I have books where the pictures blur to pixels the second you try to read them. There's a big difference in utility between the two.
 
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Text books are still a thing?
 
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Had a classmate ONLY study McG for part 2.... knew it inside and out... and failed the exam. It’s good for rotations and prepping for cases in residency but that’s about it. I havent looked at it in years. Would love to sell those darn paperweights.
 
This is a good book set overall, but pretty hit or miss from chapter to chapter. I don't remember that so much in past versions (just summary of the pathology, workup, and treatment options).

The Lapidus chapter is a disaster. It took a major downgrade from being fairly good in prior editions and is unfortunately a complete joke in 5th... devolved into basically a clear ****plasty advertisement attempt. Any attending should already know there a dozen or more good ways to perform and fixate that versatile workhorse bunionectomy, but McGlamry is designed as a comprehensive text and for students, boards, etc. It is crazy for a chapter covering one of the most common surgical procedures DPMs perform not to show various constructs of cross screws, lag screw with plate, plantar plate, various plate brands, etc. I guess that would mess up the product placement?

I have no idea how much money they probably took to allow a guy cashing huge checks from one niche Lapidus plate manufacturer to write that chapter and do it in that way: pics of nothing but that one brand of fixation and use "preferred by authors" and "we find that" and "we approach the procedure with" throughout instead of legit unbiased info and best articles as references. It is not uncommon in journal articles or lectures or Myerson, Chang, Easley, etc books to describe a procedure in basics and then mostly focus on their own preferred method... but McGlamry is historically comprehensive (podiatry version of what Coughlin is for ortho F&A).

The good thing is that most other McGlamry chapters I've read are a lot more unbiased (review all brands of TARs, show many types of ankle fusion constructs, show nearly any and every hallux rigidus treatment, show pins and plates and various screws for met fx, etc).
 
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This is a good book set overall, but pretty hit or miss from chapter to chapter. I don't remember that so much in past versions (just summary of the pathology, workup, and treatment options).

The Lapidus chapter is a disaster. It took a major downgrade from being fairly good in prior editions and is unfortunately a complete joke in 5th... devolved into basically a clear ****plasty advertisement attempt. Any attending should already know there a dozen or more good ways to perform and fixate that versatile workhorse bunionectomy, but McGlamry is designed as a comprehensive text and for students, boards, etc. It is crazy for a chapter covering one of the most common surgical procedures DPMs perform not to show various constructs of cross screws, lag screw with plate, plantar plate, various plate brands, etc. I guess that would mess up the product placement?

I have no idea how much money they probably took to allow a guy cashing huge checks from one niche Lapidus plate manufacturer to write that chapter and do it in that way: pics of nothing but that one brand of fixation and use "preferred by authors" and "we find that" and "we approach the procedure with" throughout instead of legit unbiased info and best articles as references. It is not uncommon in journal articles or lectures or Myerson, Chang, Easley, etc books to describe a procedure in basics and then mostly focus on their own preferred method... but McGlamry is historically comprehensive (podiatry version of what Coughlin is for ortho F&A).

The good thing is that most other McGlamry chapters I've read are a lot more unbiased (review all brands of TARs, show many types of ankle fusion constructs, show nearly any and every hallux rigidus treatment, show pins and plates and various screws for met fx, etc).
It makes Lapiplasty more of a joke now than it ever was before. It also decreases the legitimacy of the textbook. You are right it is supposed to be a comprehensive review. This shows how weak podiatry is. There are no standards.

Dayton went from producing good science/ literature to get a seat at the ACFAS table to now using his stature to completely influence how podiatrists in training think. All in an attempt pad his bank account. It's no longer about science for him. It's all about the money. It is truly sad.

Lapiplasty is an expensive construct that a lot of facilities won't allow. At my last hospital job there were outside podiatrists who tried to get it approved that were denied because anybody with a brain understands that a bunion can be fixed with the current hardware available.

Lapiplasty is for podiatrists who only feel comfortable doing bunions and hammertoes. It's an idiot proof system. That's why its become so popular. Podiatrists who referred out large bunions are now doing them. They are also the same podiatrists who post their pictures online showing a ridiculously short first ray after fixation. They still can't get it right because they don't know what they are doing.

What kills me is that the consultants for the company are even using the double plate construct for 1st MTP fusions and pretending its completely justified. Why is this happening? Because podiatrists are desperate for cash.
 
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Got the 5th edition earlier this week, and I am very impressed with it so far. I used the previous edition extensively from the 2nd year of Pod school, and it has served me well in the OR and the clinics. If you got a copy of the new edition, what do you think of it so far?
I’ve been reading the 5th edition for case prep and I love it. I feel it’s easy to comprehend and the information is organized in a solid manner. I did not find a “Lapiplasty” chapter, so they might haven taken it out. I like that they have a good amount of resources and recent literature references. I’ve looked at the literature they reference and that offers additional techniques. The images are good but sometimes I wish they labeled the anatomy, pathology etc.

Otherwise, really good read. Highly recommend.
 
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Not sure if McG's has this, but Mann's surgery of Foot and Ankle came with a free e-text and the free e-text in turn came with some online videos you could download. I used to watch them on my phone all the time before surgery when I was in residency, especially when cases were delayed. This is a pricey investment on a student's budget, so you can do what I did: buy the book brand new, register for the e-text, watch the videos, sell the book.
 
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I like Mann's. Hate McG.
 
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Not sure if McG's has this, but Mann's surgery of Foot and Ankle came with a free e-text and the free e-text in turn came with some online videos you could download. I used to watch them on my phone all the time before surgery when I was in residency, especially when cases were delayed. This is a pricey investment on a student's budget, so you can do what I did: buy the book brand new, register for the e-text, watch the videos, sell the book.
Thats solid, I just found a PDF of the book, looks awesome. I can't wait to work through the chapters for cases.

Question for forum: has anyone used a book titled "Operative Techniques in Foot and Ankle Surgery: by Mark E. Easley?
 
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Thats solid, I just found a PDF of the book, looks awesome. I can't wait to work through the chapters for cases.

Question for forum: has anyone used a book titled "Operative Techniques in Foot and Ankle Surgery: by Mark E. Easley?
I like Easley. I find it to be more of a cookbook style than Mcglamery's or Mann's. It's really more of step by step through the procedure than reviewing literature, procedure selection, history, etc. In practice I tend to use it much more than Mcglamery or Mann.
 
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I like Easley. I find it to be more of a cookbook style than Mcglamery's or Mann's. It's really more of step by step through the procedure than reviewing literature, procedure selection, history, etc. In practice I tend to use it much more than Mcglamery or Mann.
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Myerson's textbook (Reconstructive Foot and Ankle Surgery). Again - its mostly step by step but he still talks about cases in a way that I often feel no one else does. Obviously not a literature view. I remember lending my copy to one of my attendings who bitched to me about the lack of citations. Its not a citation book - its a book where a guy revises other people's triples and non-unions and failed deformities. Most people are not doing that and cannot do that.
 
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I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Myerson's textbook (Reconstructive Foot and Ankle Surgery). Again - its mostly step by step but he still talks about cases in a way that I often feel no one else does. Obviously not a literature view. I remember lending my copy to one of my attendings who bitched to me about the lack of citations. Its not a citation book - its a book where a guy revises other people's triples and non-unions and failed deformities. Most people are not doing that and cannot do that.

+1 for Easley and Myerson. Good pictures and step by step process.

Also highly recommend Sig Hansen’s book - Functional Reconstruction of the Foot and Ankle.

Notice that these books do not go over orthoplastics, nerve wraps, nerve surgery…only in podiatry do we make up this BS.
 
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+1 for Easley and Myerson. Good pictures and step by step process.

Also highly recommend Sig Hansen’s book - Functional Reconstruction of the Foot and Ankle.

Notice that these books do not go over orthoplastics, nerve wraps, nerve surgery…only in podiatry do we make up this BS.
Sounds like something a podiatrist who has never performed orthoplastic nerve reconstruction would say.
 
For nostalgia: 2/3 of everything I learned p3 year came from reading Thomas Chang's book. It was outdated even at the time I read it, discussing arthrograms for plantar plate injury, lol.

Books like Chang and others are nice as cookbooks. But ultimately you are the surgeon and must think critically about what one author recommends vs another. So Mann and McG are good for having citations so you can learn multiple philosophies towards different pathologies.
 
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