The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons has published its
Instructional Course Lecture Series since 1943, and each edition has
been consistently well received by orthopaedic surgeons. This
edition—the first one to be dedicated to a subspecialty
area—focuses on spinal conditions.
The editor, Howard An, and his highly qualified section editors/reviewers
have selected thirty-four articles and organized these into nine sections that
cover almost every area of interest in modern-day spine care. Each section
begins with a summary of the articles and contains appropriate critique,
comments, and supplementary information as needed.
The nine sections contain information on degenerative cervical disorders,
herniated lumbar disc, lumbar spinal stenosis, pediatric spine (congenital
spinal deformity and acute back pain in children), spondylolisthesis, adult
spinal deformities, cervical spine trauma, thoracolumbar spine trauma, and
osteoporotic spine. Fourteen chapters, including those on degenerative
cervical disorders (Section 1), the chapters on spondylolisthesis (Section 5),
and the timely discussions on the osteoporotic spine (Section 9), are all
newly presented Instructional Course Lectures from 2003.
The only major topics not included are upper cervical spine conditions,
lumbar spinal instability, discogenic back pain surgery, and adolescent spinal
deformity. These subjects could fill an entire separate edition. Inevitably,
there is always some overlap and repetition in a publication of this type, and
this textbook exhibits these problems to a minor degree, particularly in the
sections on degenerative cervical disorders and herniated lumbar disc.
Generally, however, the articles are well written, and the editorial comments
made by the subsection editors put things into the proper perspective. The
illustrations are of good quality, and the references listed for each article
are complete.
This book serves as an eminently readable source of practical, objective,
and consensus-derived information that can assist us all in giving optimal
care to our patients. It is also an excellent updated reference source. This
publication is most suitable for residents, fellows, and all practicing spine
surgeons. It has a place in the library of every institution and training
program and on the bookshelf of every orthopaedic surgeon who is involved in
the treatment of spinal conditions.