Arthroscopic and Endoscopic Spinal Surgery: Text and Atlas (2nd edn)

Abstract

This is a multi-author text with 28 authors covering the subject of arthroscopic and endoscopic surgery principally of the lumbar spine. There are additional chapters covering vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty, techniques in pain management, interspinous implant for spinal stenosis, chemonucleolysis, nucleus replacement and frameless stereotactic imaging techniques. The editor is one of the pioneers and innovators of percutaneous and arthroscopic spinal surgery so the content is presented from the perspective of the enthusiast for these techniques. The book is principally a text on how to perform the procedures and is richly illustrated. However, there is no consistency in the presentation of the figures, style varying from chapter to chapter and the photographs are of equivocal quality. The order of the chapters is also unusual in that discectomy is covered in chapters 4, 9 and 19. The techniques pioneered by Dr Kambin and described in this book were developed in the 1980s; however, very little evidence is presented for the efficacy of the techniques described. The additional material of newer techniques is of interest but is not comprehensively covered, nor is there clear indication of what the role of these techniques should be to the modern-day practising spinal surgeon. A strength of this book is the description of percutaneous transpedicular approaches and minimally invasive techniques in pain management for the spine surgeon as these topics are often less than optimally covered in other texts. The book is accompanied with a CD that shows video footage of Dr Kambin performing the techniques described in the book for lumbar discectomy and segmental instrumented fusion. The striking feature is of the high level of surgical skill that is required to perform the surgery and the huge complement of specialist instrumentation that is required. This is a book of interest to the enthusiast for percutaneous spinal surgery; however, little evidence is presented for the efficacy for the techniques described and advocated. It needs to be included in any comprehensive library of spinal surgery for reference but it is probably not a necessity for the practising spinal surgeon or resident.