In 2017, the World Journal of Orthopedics (WJO) has published the 12^nd issue which containing 14 articles contributed by scientists worldwide. Among these comprehensive articles are (1) “Update on mesenchymal stem cell therapies for cartilage disorders”, an Editorial by Nikolaos K Paschos, MD, PhD, et al from the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Division of Sports Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, United States; (2) “Role of fast-setting cements in arthroplasty: A comparative analysis of characteristics”, an Original Article by Neil Ayron Caraan, MD, et al from Department of Orthopaedics and Orthopaedic Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Austria; and (3) “Acute compartment syndrome of the thigh following hip replacement by anterior approach in a patient using oral anticoagulants”, a Case Report by Dirk Pieter Hogerzeil, MD, et al from Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Alrijne Hospital, The Netherlands, etc. We invite you to peruse all 14 articles in this issue, as they present the latest research progress/findings and provide insightful comments in orthopedics that will guide basic research and clinical practice in these fields.

This journal is an open-access journal which allows free immediate access to all full-text articles. For details, please visit: Volume 8, Issue 12, December 18, 2017.

Figure 1 The cover of the issue. Editorial Board Member of World Journal of Orthopedics, Chunfeng Zhao, MD, Professor, Research Scientist, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, United States

The WJO is a leading academic journal devoted to reporting the latest, cutting-edge research progress and findings of basic research and clinical practice in the field of orthopedics. It was launched on November 18, 2010 and is published monthly (12 issues annually) by BPG, the world's leading professional clinical medical journal publishing company.

We encourage orthopedists worldwide to submit manuscripts to the WJO describing their original basic or clinical research findings that are of high academic value and which report new diagnostic techniques or summarize their treatment experiences.

We invited the readers to download and read the E-Journal of this issue.