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To understand the relationship between standardisation and originality in surgery, the contributions of three surgeons in the 20th century are analysed. The individual Arbuthnot Lane, the collectivist Robert Jones and the scientist Alexis Carrel changed the practice of orthopaedic surgery. It is argued that the factors influencing innovation are not binary but multifactorial and that advances in surgery occur when individual freedom is permitted within a system. It is concluded that innovation and standardisation in orthopaedic surgery need not conflict with each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

External fixation of fractures is now used frequently in orthopaedics. This paper reviews the results of 30 fractures treated by a single bar system, the Sukhtian-Hughes, over a period of 4 years. The results are encouraging, particularly in compound tibial fractures and in patients with non-union of fractures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]