Editors: Francis H. Shen, MD; Dino Samartzis, DSC; and Richard G. Fessler, MD
Publisher: Elsevier Saunders – 502 pages
Book Review by: Nano Khilnani

This is a book for cervical spine specialists, especially surgeons, as well as for trainees and residents. The coverage is anatomy, pathology, and surgical techniques, including the latest ones.

Besides providing you all aspects cervical spine surgery from basics to clinical practice, this book also provides you:

  • Practical information for treating patients
  • Useful information for surgery: state-of-the art techniques, emerging technologies, and complications
  • Preview in each chapter that provides a synopsis and the important points of the chapter

The materials in this book are organized into eight sections containing a total of 56 chapters. The titles of the eight sections, in order to give you an overview of what you will find in this book, are:

  1. Basics
  2. Degenerative Conditions
  3. Trauma
  4. Spinal Tumors, Infections, and Inflammatory Conditions
  5. Surgical Techniques
  6. Fixation Techniques
  7. Emerging Technologies
  8. Complications

One hundred and thirteen physicians, surgeons, professors and other specialists on various aspects of the human spine (e.g. orthopedists, neurologists) authored the 56 chapters of this textbook. They work mainly in the United States, but also in Australia, Canada, China, Finland, Great Britain, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and South Korea.

In addition to information available in its over 500 printed pages, you can also access material online. The contents of this book, like most other Elsevier books, are available online. Enhanced eBooks from Elsevier Publishing for medical professionals are compatible with the PC, Mac, most mobile devices, and eReaders. Expert Consult allows you to browse, search, and interact with this title – online and offline.

To get access to the contents of this book and other information online, first redeem your PIN from the inside front cover of the book. Here’s what you do:

  1. Login or Sign Up at www.ExpertConsult.com
  2. Scratch off the gray stickler on the inside from cover to get your PIN code
  3. Enter PIN into the Redeem a Book Code box at the above website
  4. Click Redeem
  5. Go to My Library

Once you have logged in, these are the innovative features available to you online:

  • Seamless, real-time integration between devices
  • Straightforward navigation and search
  • Notes and highlights sharing with other users through social media
  • Enhanced images with annotations, labels, and hot spots for zooming on specificdetails*
  • Live streaming video and animations*
  • Self-assessment tools such as questions embedded within the text and multiple-format quizzes. *Some features vary by title

To enhance your learning, this book enables you to view some videos. The Video Contents of this book are the following:

Chapter 25: Infections of the Cervical Spine, 235

Video 25-1:  Application of Wound Vacuum-Assisted Closure, 235

Chapter 30:  Anterior Cervical Disketomy and Fusion, 285

Video 30-1:  Anterior Cervical Disketomy and Fusion, 285

Chapter 37:   Osteotomies of the Cervical Spine, 337

Video 37-1:  Decancellation Procedure in C7 Pedicle Subtraction Osteotomy, 337

Video 37-2:  Lateral Wall of Vertebral Body Dissected with Penfield Number 1, 337

Video 37-3:  Closure of Decancellated C7 Vertebra in C7 Pedicle Subtraction Osteotomy, 337

Video 37-4:  Mobilization of the Vertebral Bodies During the Anterior Portion of the Circumferential 540 Osteotomy Procedure, 337

Video 37-5:  Protecting the Vertebral Artery During the Anterior Portion of the Circumferential 540 Osteotomy Procedure, 337

Chapter 43:  Lateral Mass Screws, 389

Video 43-1:  Modified Kurokawa French Door Laminoplasty and Lateral Mass Fusion of C4 to C5 or C6, 389

You can get even more valuable information from an allied website – www.ClinicalKey.com.  This search engine of Elsevier Saunders is specially designed for doctors by providing them:

  1. Comprehensive Content – the most current, evidence-based answers available for every medical and surgical specialty
  2. Trusted Answers – content supplied by Elsevier, the world’s leading provider of health and science information
  3. Unrivaled Speed to Answer – faster, more relevant clinical answers, so you can spend less time searching and more time caring for your patients

The benefits of using this book are numerous.  Some of them are that you will:

  • Accurately handle complex situations with image-guided techniques for the management of cervical spine pathology, as well as helpful information on patient management and surgical decision-making.
  • Stay up to date on hot topics with recent case studies that orient you toward important clinical information in the field.
  • Quickly find the information you need with succinct chapters that focus on highlights, key points, tips, and tricks.
  • Access the full text online at www.expertconsult.com.
  • Watch videos of surgical procedures.

Editors:

Francis H. Shen, MD is Warren G. Stamp Endowed Professor, Head of the Spine Division, Director of the Spine Fellowship, and Co-Director of the Spine Center in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the University of Virginia Health Science Center in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Dino Samartzis, DSc is Warden of Hornell Hall, Assistant Professor, and Director of Clinical Spine Research in the Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, and Deputy Director of the Laboratory and Clinical Research Institute for Pain at Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong in Hong Kong.

Richard G. Fessler, MD, PhD is Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois.