Brain and Spine Tumors
Introduction The incidence of brain tumors, particularly brain metastases, has been increasing in certain patient groups, and the average annual adjusted incidence rate has been estimated to be 24.71 per…
Neuro-ophthalmology
INTRODUCTION Visual symptoms can be the presenting feature of a wide range of important neurological diseases. It is important for primary care clinicians to be familiar with the approach to…
Encephalopathy
Introduction Encephalopathy is commonly encountered in inpatients and outpatients and has a broad and complex differential diagnosis including both primary neurologic and systemic causes. The term derived from the Greek…
Introduction to Neurogenetics
Introduction Neurogenetics has evolved considerably over the last 25 years. Advancements in human genome sequencing have led to the identification of mutations that cause neurologic disease and to fundamentally new…
The Neurological Examination
Today’s neurological examination originates from those of Wilhelm Erb, Joseph Babinski, and William Gowers in the 1800s. Erb emphasized a systematic, comprehensive structure; Babinski uncovered signs distinguishing organic from hysterical…
Advances in Spinal Cord Stimulation
Introduction Chronic low back pain represents a significant burden to the United States. Approximately 37% of the general adult population suffers from low back pain with an estimated cost of…
Iatrogenic Spinal Instability: Causes, Evaluation, Treatment, and Prevention
Introduction Instability in the lumbar spine is a well-recognized entity for both degenerative and traumatic processes. Less well defined is instability following an index decompressive or fusion procedure. This complex…
Pseudarthrosis/Nonunion
Introduction Degenerative disease of the lumbar spine is a common cause of disability and pain, with lumbar spondylolisthesis affecting 11.5% of the US population and lumbar stenosis affecting more than…
Adjacent Segment Disease After Fusion
Definitions Adjacent segment disease (ASD) has been broadly and inconsistently defined in the literature. Other terms that have been used to describe ASD include junctional disease, junctional stenosis, or a…
Postoperative Considerations
Introduction Revision lumbar spine surgery comes with unique challenges and special considerations in the postoperative setting. In this chapter, we will cover some topics pertinent to postoperative care. Specifically, we…
