Overview Four topics will be addressed in this chapter: 1) normal vascular anatomy of the spinal cord; 2) vascular neoplastic lesions, represented by hemangioblastomas and cavernous malformations; 3) arteriovenous malformations…
Overview Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of unknown etiology that affects approximately 197 people per 100,000 per year in the United States with a male-to-female predominance of…
Overview The delicate balance among the curves of the spinal column has allowed man to accomplish a unique feat among living organisms: upright bipedal ambulation. When examining human embryology, it…
Overview Primary tumors of the spinal cord are relatively rare, comprising 2% to 4% of all primary central nervous system tumors. Spinal tumors are generally identified by location and can…
Overview The lumbosacral junction–the confluence of the lumbar spine, sacrum, and ilium—can be afflicted by traumatic, infectious, degenerative, deformative (scoliosis), and neoplastic processes. Surgical management of diseases that affect the…
Overview In spinal surgery, the occurrence of dural tears, both incidental and nonincidental, is not uncommon. Dural tears are more common with certain spinal procedures, such as revision laminectomy surgery,…
Thoracoscopic Approach Overview For the surgery of thoracic spinal tumors, open thoracotomy is usually used. However, morbidity associated with conventional open thoracotomy often limits the application of anterior approaches to…
Overview Gunshot wounds (GSWs) to the spine represent a major health problem in U.S. metropolitan areas as well as in military hospitals. With the perpetually escalating levels of violence, civilian…
Overview Spinal tumors are generally categorized by location, and they fall into three anatomic groups: 1) extradural, 2) intradural-extramedullary, and 3) intramedullary. Primary malignant and benign tumors are typically extradural…
Overview Although anterior approaches to the thoracolumbar spine date as far back as the 1930s, first-generation anterior column instrumentation was developed in 1968 by Dwyer and colleagues and was composed…
