Spine Surgery: Overview and Controversies

The possibilities of surgical treatment of spinal disorders have expanded enormously in recent years. Movement conservation, reduction of access routes, and the use of microscope and endoscope have reduced risks and significantly improved the chances of success. However, only by knowing and mastering the various conservative and minimally invasive surgical techniques can one work on individual treatment for the patient. This book reviews important literature about spinal disorders, describes surgical anatomy of the spine, etiology, pathology, clinical signs, imagine methods of the spinal diseases, and specific techniques of the spinal procedures. The chapter about cervical and lumbar degenerative disc disease will bring new knowledge in the possible therapy, including endoscopic and minimally invasive surgical procedures. The chapter about infections of the spine gives new information about conservative and surgical treatment as well as postoperative complications. The possibilities in surgical treatment in spine tumors will be written in a separate chapter. This chapter provides quite an extensive coverage of tumors related to the spine, and information on their management and treatment, including operative techniques and approaches with spine stabilization. Spinal trauma chapter brings together information on state-of-the-art clinical imaging, including multidetector CT and high-field MRI techniques and the pathophysiology, neurologic evaluation, medical management, surgical treatment, and postoperative assessment of spine trauma and spinal cord injury. Techniques for spinal procedures include the most common types of instrumented procedures such as anterior cervical discectomy and fusion, cervical arthroplasty, occiput C1, and C2 instrumentation, lumbar microdiscectomy, lumbar arthroplasty, posterior, transforaminal and anterior lumbar interbody fusion, and indications and techniques of revision spine surgery.