Comparison

AO Surgery Reference vs CIVA Pro

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

AO Surgery Reference

Access a comprehensive online repository of surgical knowledge for fracture management. It provides detailed guidance on diagnosis, treatment, and aftercare for numerous fracture types, supported by extensive illustrations and expert review.

Highlights
  • 353 fracture types covered
  • 172 surgical approaches
  • 1222 surgical procedures
  • Over 30,000 illustrations
  • Feline, canine, and equine fracture care
  • Powerful search function
Features
Read full description

QUICK ONLINE REFERENCE IN CLINICAL LIFE Gain easy access to the award-winning AO Surgery Reference. AO Surgery Reference is an online repository for surgical knowledge. It describes the complete surgical management process from diagnosis to aftercare for all fractures of a given anatomical region, and also assembles relevant material that the AO has published before. It gives access to:   • aid in surgical decision making for 353 fracture types • 172 approaches • 1222 surgical procedures • all richly illustrated with more than 30'000 Illustrations and much more. To ensure the quality of the content, it is authored, edited, and peer reviewed by experienced AO Faculty from all over the world, some of which are also well-known textbook authors/editors. This is a relaunch of the AO Surgery Reference app utilizing the same responsive user interface that was released February 2020. The highlights are: • Consistent navigational logic and user experience on all screen sizes • Inclusion of feline, canine, and equine fracture care • Combination of Preparation – Approach – Reduction and Fixation – Aftercare into one step called treatment. • Introduction of a powerful search function, allowing simplifications of the user interface as it replaces previous shortcuts.

About

CIVA Pro

This surgical simulation platform offers an interactive way to learn and understand complex craniofacial procedures. It breaks down ten surgical steps with integrated video, voiceovers, images, and 3D labels, preparing medical professionals for intricate operations.

Highlights
  • Interactive surgical simulation
  • Ten discrete surgical procedure steps
  • Intra-operative video integration
  • Voiceover and image overlays
  • 3D anatomical labels
  • Didactic knowledge access
Features
Read full description

ABOUT THE SIMULATOR Over the past two decades, the pioneers at the Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery have led the world in the creation of the Craniofacial Interactive Virtual Assistant for surgery or CIVA Pro which provides innovative methods of teaching and distributing surgical knowledge. Using an interactive surgical simulation platform, ten surgical procedures have been broken down into discrete steps for both medical professionals and patients' families. The viewer is able to trigger intra-operative surgical video, voice over, images and 3D labels at various points in the procedure to access didactic knowledge necessary to fully understand complex three-dimensional surgical concepts. Like a pilot trained on a simulator before commanding a plane with passengers, this groundbreaking teaching tool will teach a new generation of surgeons trained in intricate procedures on a computer before they operate on a child's face. OUR VISION The Atlas will allow thousands of surgical residents, interns, fellows, medical students, as well as experienced surgeons, to go into surgery with more confidence and a deeper medical understanding. A new generation of surgeons will be infinitely better prepared and, most importantly, children and adults with craniofacial anomalies will be better served, in the United States and around the world. myFace is providing access to the simulator on a pro bono basis as a means to educate the world. CREDITS The CIVA Pro was created by a unique partnership of philanthropy, industry, the Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery and the Department of Plastic Surgery at NYU Langone Medical Center. Powered By: The BioDigital Human Platform - BioDigital Inc. Medical Directors: Roberto L. Flores and Joseph G. McCarthy Craniofacial Modeling Consultant: Barry H. Grayson We would like to thank the following organizations for their vision and support of this ground-breaking project: KLS Martin Milbank Foundation Dorothea Haus Ross Foundation Jorge Posada Foundation.

Screenshots

AO Surgery Reference4 screens
CIVA Pro4 screens

Verdict

The call

AO Surgery Reference and CIVA Pro both sit at 4.4 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of CIVA Pro's written reviews are positive against 86% of AO Surgery Reference's. CIVA Pro also leads on iOS requirement (9.0 vs 13.0). AO Surgery Reference's advantage is ratings volume (14 vs 2). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for AO Surgery Reference against 4.5 for CIVA Pro. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: AO Surgery Reference has 14 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 86% of AO Surgery Reference's written reviews are positive against 100% of CIVA Pro's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

AO Surgery Reference ships an update every 6 months, CIVA Pro every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
AO Surgery Reference versus CIVA Pro: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAO Surgery ReferenceCIVA Pro
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (14 ratings)4.5 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews85.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings14 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 4 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.09.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB86 MB
Age rating17+12+
DeveloperAO FoundationBioDigital, Inc.

Customer experience

AO Surgery Reference

All ratings14 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative14.3%
Written reviews113 reviews
Positive85.8%
Neutral3.5%
Negative10.6%

CIVA Pro

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

AO Surgery Reference

No in-app purchases

None

CIVA Pro

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is AO Surgery Reference free?
AO Surgery Reference is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is CIVA Pro free?
CIVA Pro is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, AO Surgery Reference or CIVA Pro?
CIVA Pro is rated higher. AO Surgery Reference averages 4.4 out of 5 from 14 ratings, while CIVA Pro averages 4.5 from 2 ratings.
Do AO Surgery Reference or CIVA Pro have ads?
Neither AO Surgery Reference nor CIVA Pro shows ads.
Which is updated more often, AO Surgery Reference or CIVA Pro?
AO Surgery Reference ships an update every 6 months, and CIVA Pro every 4 months. Most recently, AO Surgery Reference was updated on October 11, 2026 and CIVA Pro on October 7, 2026.

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