The first part of this manual deals with the experimental and scientific
basis and the principles of the AOjASIF method of stable internal
fixation. It deals with the function and main use of the different AO
implants, the use of the different AO instruments, and with the
essentials of the operative technique and of postoperative care. It also
discusses the handling of the most important postoperative
complications. The second part deals at length with the AO
recommendations for the operative treatment of the most common closed
fractures in the adult. This has been organized in anatomical sequence.
The discussion of the closed fractures is followed by a discus- sion of
open fractures in the adult, then by fractures in children and finally
by pathological fractures. The third part presents, in a condensed
fashion, the application of stable internal fixation to reconstructive
bone surgery. 1 GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 1 Aims and Fundamental Principles
of the AO Method The Chief Aim of Fracture Treatment is the Full
Recovery of the Injured Limb In every fracture there is a combination of
damage to both the soft tissues and to bone. Immediately after the
fracture and during the phase of repair, we see certain local
circulatory disturbances, certain manifestations of local inflammation,
as well as pain and reflex splinting. These three factors, that is,
circulatory disturbances, inflammation and pain, when combined with the
defunctioning of bone, joints and muscle, result in the so-called
jl'acture disease.