(Volume 6 – Part of the Aospine Masters Series)
Editor: Luiz Roberto Vialle, MD
Guest Editors: Carlo Bellabarba, MD; and Frank Kandziora, MD
Publisher: Thieme – 190 pages, with 207 figures
Book Review by: Deekay Daulat

The word ‘thoracolumbar’ is a combination of the words ‘thoracic’ and ‘lumbar,’ the second and third parts of the spine looking sideways from top to bottom. So it could be written ‘thoraco-lumbar’ for more clarity.

It is also referred to as the thoracolumbar junction of the spine. It is that part of the spine or vertebral column that is a combination of, or located between the thoracic and lumbar sections. The other parts of the spine besides the thoracic and lumbar sections are the cervical, the topmost section, and the sacral, the bottom section.

The focus of this book is on the fractures, other types of injuries, pain, pathology of disease, surgery, trauma, and treatments on the thoraco-lumbar junction of the spine.

Twenty-eight specialists, mostly MDs and PhDs, from the United States and four other countries –  Brazil, Germany, India, and the Netherlands – authored the 13 chapters of this book we list below for your overview. The chapter titles serve as an overview for you of topics covered in this Volume 6 of the Aospine Masters Series*:

  1. The Aospine Thoracolumbar Injury Classification
  2. Radiographic Assessment of Thoracolumbar Fractures
  3. Posterior Minimally-Invasive Surgery in Thoracolumbar Fractures
  4. Anterior Minimally-Invasive Surgery in Thoracolumbar Fractures
  5. Cervicothoracic Spine Fractures
  6. Transpedicular and Costotransversectomy Approaches for Trauma: Indications and Techniques
  7. Short or Long Posterior Fusion: Determining the Extent of Fixation
  8. Burst Fracture Treatment
  9. Differentiating Lumbar Fractures from Thoracolumbar Fractures
  10. Thoracolumbar Fracture Fixation in the Osteoporotic Patient
  11. Correction of Posttraumatic Deformity
  12. Fractures in Ankylosing Conditions
  13. Spinopelvic Fixation

*See list of entire series at the end of this review.

Over the last ten or so years, Drs. Carlo Bellbarba and Frank Kandziora point out that “the way thoracolumbar fractures are looked at and classified has evolved at a rate not seen in approximately twenty years.” Is this good or bad news? Does it mean there are more injuries today than in the past, due to more accidents, sports activities, or other causes such as violence?

Or that our diagnostic procedures having become more refined, are able classify discoveries as  ‘thoracolumbar,’ not something else? Or does it mean good news, because they go on to write: “Combining new perspectives with increasingly refined and technologically advanced methods of treatment has allowed us to continue to improve our understanding of these injuries and how our patients are best treated.”

The topics we list above are discussed in systematic fashion in the chapters. Typically, each chapter has these components presented in this order:

  • Chapter title and bylines
  • Epidemiology (and/or Methodoligy, Classification)
  • Topics and subtopics, with discussions
  • Presentation of various images (radiographs, CT scans, MRIs), with captions
  • Tables with data
  • Chapter Summary
  • Pearls
  • Pitfalls
  • References

The series editor Dr. Luiz Roberto Vialle points out that “spine care is advancing at a rapid rate, and that “the challenge for today’s spine care professional is to quickly synthesize the best available evidence and expert opinion in the management of spine pathologies.” This compact and handy book does provide that synthesis, so it is very useful.

The book provides, despite its small size, ample current information, clinical insight, historic literature, references, and updated research on the diagnosis and evidence-based treatment plans – surgical or otherwise – for conditions, diseases, disorders, and fractures of the thoracolumbar portion of the spine.

 

Editor:

Luiz Roberto Vialle, MD, PhD is Professor of Orthopedics in the School of Medicine at Catholic University of Parana State, Spine Unit, in Curitiba, Brazil.

 

Guest Editors:

Carlo Bellabarba, MD is Professor in the Department of Orthopedics and Sports Medicine; Joint Professor in the Department of Neurological Surgery at University of Washington School of Medicine. He is also Acting Chief of Orthopedics at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Washington.

Frank Kandziora, MD, PhD is Chairman and Professor in the Center for Spinal Surgery and Neurotrauma at Berufsgenoschafliche Unfallklinik Hospital in Frankfurt am Main, Germany

 

Aospine  Masters Series

Series Editor: Luiz Roberto Vialle, MD, PhD
Volume 1 – Metastatic Spinal Tumors
Volume 2 – Primary Spinal Tumors
Volume 3 – Cervical Degenerative Conditions
Volume 4 –  Adult Spinal Deformities
Volume 5 – Cervical Spine Trauma
Volume 6 – Thoracolumbar Spine Trauma
Volume 7 – SCI and Regeneration
Volume 8 – Back Pain
Volume 9 – Pediatric Spinal Deformities
Volume 10 – Spinal Infection