Successive global burden of disease and injury analysis documents the growing prevalence of road traffic injuries. Systems are evolving to the level where surgeons will be able to employ modern methods of management to avoid disabilities.

Trauma cuts short many productive lives. According to the American data, injury kills one person every six minutes and disabling injury occurs every two seconds. This is accentuated in rural setting where mortalities are 50% higher. The economic impact of trauma is significant and involves both direct costs of care and lost productivity.

More number of casualties are saved because of improvement in the understanding and management of a critically injured patient. Thus more number of orthopedic traumas has to be managed than before. It should be managed right from the site of injury to returning to his original workplace with little or no disability. The integrated trauma service concept enhances education and research as well as patient care.

Separating orthopedic trauma care from general or elective orthopedic practice has advantages for both. There are strong reasons and sound case to project orthopedic trauma management as a distinct specialty because specialization means a higher level of care. It is so much easier to teach and learn good habits early in surgical career than trying to unlearn bad habits later. This is precisely what author of this treatise must be having in mind.

As it was difficult to understand, how, when and what to write, because this was first time in my life that I was handling a job of writing a book. Actually, idea of writing this book came through series of events which occurred in my life in the last 15 years, from my college days to flourishing practice that compelled meto write.

This book has unique feature as Basics of Trauma Narrated in Stages of Trauma, so that students to specialized doctors can understand, remember and apply it easily and appropriately in their practical traumatic life.

It is an immense pleasure to introduce my personal views and my practical experience what my eyes and brain learnt from my teachers, colleagues and others to share with you in form of a small handbook.

It has got beautiful live photographs, diagrammatic pictures, to the point ‘steps to tips’, and ‘tracks to tricks’ to offer each one of you for your own and better world today and tomorrow. Unnecessary theory material is excluded to make it more precise and ready for practical use.

Specialized section of specific trauma is designed to deal with particular person.

Rehabilitation, least attended part in our practice, is given utmost importance to get better functional outcome.

In fact, the word Doctor is derived from the Latin word ‘Docere’ means ‘to teach’. It is very important that every doctor must be expert, trained, vigilant and accurate enough to be prepared in this unknown, undiagnosed, unwanted trauma to deal with.

I hope you would like this humble endeavor.

I wish you all a hassle free, successful and atraumatic life in this puzzling world.

On this memorable moment of writing this book, I also would like to thank all who directly or indirectly involved with this book.

My deepest thanks to my wife Dr Shweta Shah, my sons Yug and Arnav, who helped me emotionally and morally encouraged me to pen my thoughts and experiences. She has taken pain to go through the book and make necessary corrections as and when needed.

I express my thanks to my doctors, teachers, colleagues, students, plastic surgeons, physiotherapists, my hospital staff who helped me to make a complete handbook.

I would like to express my deep sense of gratitude to Mr Tarun Duneja (Director-Publishing), Mr KK Raman (Production Manager), Mr Ashutosh Srivastava (Asstt. Editor) and the entire team of M/s Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) Ltd., New Delhi.

My special thanks to Dr VM Shah, renowned trauma surgeon for writing Foreword for this book.

And at last, I would like to thank almighty, God, and my patients for their kindness and their grace has made me what I am today.