Abstract Measuring distances and angles is an important task in daily orthopedic practice. Radiologic measurements are the key to diagnosing certain injuries and defining their prognosis, and they often have a decisive impact on treatment. Radiologic measurements can be used…
Abstract Indications Ultrasound guidance is the optimum technique for placing needles into soft tissue structures when they are well visualized using this imaging method. In broad terms, ultrasound is used for injections and biopsies, but both the structures to be…
Abstract Percutaneous intradiskal therapies are currently used in the treatment of two distinct medical problems: chronic low back pain and the herniated nucleus pulposus–related radicular syndrome (sciatica). Both conditions lead to substantial medical and economic losses, with low back pain…
Abstract Vertebroplasty was first described by Herve Deramond and his colleagues from Amiens, France, in 1987. They were faced with a patient with an aggressive, destructive, but otherwise benign hemangioma of a C2 vertebral body. There seemed to be no…
Abstract Indications Discography is a diagnostic tool for the diagnosis of cervical, thoracic, or lumbar radicular or referral pain. Although the use of discography as the first-line diagnostic examination is not indicated, it is usually recommended when conservative treatment or…
Indications Epidural pain injections are useful in the patient with a wide variety of disorders that could generate back pain, including extruded and bulging disks; foraminal and lateral recess stenoses with nerve compression from facet osteoarthritis, capsular hypertrophy, synovial cyst…
Techniques Chemical Ablation with Sclerosing Agents Sclerosing agents act by diffusion into cells and cause immediate dehydration of cytoplasm with subsequent necrosis followed by fibrosis. By entering into the circulation, these agents induce necrosis of endothelial cells and platelet aggregation,…
Percutaneous biopsy of the spine is an effective, reliable, safe, and rapid procedure that can be easily performed in comparison with open biopsy. It may be performed at a lower cost than surgery. This procedure has become routine and is…
Percutaneous biopsy of the appendicular skeletal lesion is a minimally invasive, safe, and inexpensive procedure compared with open biopsy. Therefore, this procedure is indicated in many cases. Indications Bone Metastases A suspicion of bone metastasis is the main indication for…
Abstract Indications The incidence of soft tissue sarcomas in the general population is very low, 1.4 to 2.7 per 100,000, increasing for patients 80 years of age and older to 8 per 100,000. The majority (59%) of soft tissue sarcomas…