Acknowledgments The author thanks Carlo Piovani for his most valuable assistance for imaging and documentation. Primary tumors of the spine are exceedingly rare. Owing to their rarity, few surgeons had gained enough experience and insight into their management until the…
Epidemiology and Pathology Cauda equina tumors (CETs) represent a distinct entity of spinal cord neoplasms that arise from the cauda equina, with an estimated prevalence rate is 0.03 per 100,000 persons (in the age-adjusted 2000 US population). According to 2004–07…
Introduction Although spinal cord tumor and spinal cord arteriovenous malformation (AVM) operations may appear to be unrelated, they are, in fact, closely linked. Both tumors and AVMs are space-occupying lesions, present challenging technical scenarios, and require an understanding of their…
Introduction Tumors arising from the intradural extramedullary (IDEM) spinal canal reflect a wide variety of histopathologies. With few exceptions, however, these tumors are histologically benign and amenable to complete surgical resection. Long-term tumor control or cure with preservation or improvement…
Introduction The neurosurgical literature on intramedullary spinal cord tumors (IMSCTs) contains many case reports and few large series, even for the tumors of glial origin, which are the most numerous. Despite occurring at any age group, these lesions are rare…
Introduction Scoliosis broadly refers to an abnormal curvature of the spine. The term scoliosis is commonly used to describe disease in children or adolescents with congenital or idiopathic curvature; however, the nomenclature of “spinal deformity” now encompasses congenital, idiopathic, degenerative,…
Historical Perspective The study of cervical spine deformity has increased tremendously during the past decade as multiple studies have demonstrated the important role cervical spinal alignment plays in quality of life. Furthermore, the relationships between quality of life and sagittal…
Scoliosis refers to an abnormal curvature of the spine due to developmental, degenerative, idiopathic, or iatrogenic changes of subaxial biomechanics in the coronal, sagittal, and axial planes. Over much of this past century, the term scoliosis has generally referred to…
Achondroplasia (“without cartilage formation”) is the most common form of dwarfism in humans and is characterized by disproportionately short stature with rhizomelic shortening of the extremities, macrocephaly, midface hypoplasia, and frontal bossing. , This skeletal dysplasia results from defective formation…
The tethered cord syndrome (TCS) results from relative fixation of, most commonly, the caudal spinal cord owing to one of multiple pathologic entities. This fixation prohibits normal physiologic motion, can cause focal ischemia, and, in adults, most often manifests with…