Spine

Abstract

This chapter explores pathologies of the spine. The first study addresses the question of adjacent segment disease in the cervical spine. The second study, which presents a critical review of cervical laminoplasty, has a historical value showing how a novel procedure can be rejected at first but subsequently commonly adopted. The next two studies compare lumbar discectomy versus nonoperative treatment for lumbar disc herniation, and determine the safety and efficacy of bone morphogenetic proterin-2 in anterior lumbar interbody fusion. The following study is also of historic value, it evaluates the effect of pedicle screw instrumentation on fusion rates in posterolateral lumbar spinal fusion. The following studies focus on the treatment of adult scoliosis, compare the National Emergency X-Radiography Utilization Study Low-Risk Criteria to the Canadian C-Spine Rule in patients with trauma, and demonstrate that direct decompressive surgery plus postoperative radiotherapy is superior to treatment with radiotherapy alone for patients with spinal cord compression caused by metastatic cancer. Finally, a historical paper from 1980 investigates anterior approaches to the cervical spine.