Introduction The technique of posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) is an important technique in the current spine surgeon’s armamentarium. That being said, the surgery is still defined by its level of technical difficulty and controversy exists regarding the safety of…
Summary of Key Points Cervical disc herniation is a common cause of neck pain, radiculopathy, and cervical myelopathy. Risk factors include male gender, increasing age, white race, cigarette smoking, heavy lifting, and occupation. Disc herniations results from traumatic, overuse, or…
Introduction Spinal fusions are one of the most common spine surgeries performed today. The number of spinal fusion surgeries performed has significantly increased over the past 2 decades. From 1998 to 2008, the rates of spinal fusion surgery have increased…
Chapter Preview Chapter Synopsis Surgical decompression of the neural elements is of paramount importance in all spinal procedures, especially those of cervical myelopathy. Neural compression at the level of the disk space can be addressed by performing anterior cervical diskectomy…
Lumbosacral Anatomy Osseous Anatomy The lumbosacral spine consists of five lumbar (L1–L5) and five sacral vertebrae (S1–S5) and their associated intervertebral discs, nerves, muscles, ligaments, and blood vessels. Each vertebra consists of a vertebral body, vertebral arch, and seven processes.…