AO Surgery Reference vs CIVA Pro
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 353 fracture types covered
- 172 surgical approaches
- 1222 surgical procedures
- Over 30,000 illustrations
- Feline, canine, and equine fracture care
- Powerful search function
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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.
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.
- Interactive surgical simulation
- Ten discrete surgical procedure steps
- Intra-operative video integration
- Voiceover and image overlays
- 3D anatomical labels
- Didactic knowledge access
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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
Verdict
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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
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.
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.
| Parameter | AO Surgery Reference | CIVA Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (14 ratings) | 4.5 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 85.8% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 14 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 4 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 9.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 86 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | AO Foundation | BioDigital, Inc. |
Customer experience
AO Surgery Reference
CIVA Pro
In-app purchases
AO Surgery Reference
No in-app purchases
CIVA Pro
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is AO Surgery Reference free?
Is CIVA Pro free?
Which has better reviews, AO Surgery Reference or CIVA Pro?
Do AO Surgery Reference or CIVA Pro have ads?
Which is updated more often, AO Surgery Reference or CIVA Pro?
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