A valued resource for spine surgeons puts emphasis on practical

Instructional Course Lectures (ICL) Spine 2, published by the AAOS cooperatively with the North American Spine Society (NASS), is the first specialty volume in the ICL series to be published in a second edition. This new compilation of selected lectures on spine topics presented at AAOS Annual Meetings over the past several years covers 10 major topics in spine surgery and emphasizes practical, clinically relevant information.

The new ICL Spine 2 should appeal to both the specialist and the general orthopaedic surgeon, said Christopher M. Bono, MD, the volume’s editor. Although the book addresses the important topics in spinal disorders and covers specific techniques and procedures, ICL Spine 2 is “the vantage point for any orthopaedic surgeon taking care of spine patients,” according to Dr. Bono.

“As the leader in multidisciplinary spine care and education, NASS is excited to collaborate with the AAOS, the leader in orthopaedic care, to produce this specialty volume,” said Eeric Truumees, MD, member of the NASS board of directors and chair of its Education Publishing Committee. “Under Dr. Bono’s editorial leadership, the collaboration of these two societies has produced a superior product.”

Treatments and complications
Eight of the book’s 10 sections focus on the following specific subcategories of spinal disease and treatment: spinal trauma, pediatric spinal deformity, adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, adult spinal deformity, low back pain and radiculopathy, degenerative lumbar stenosis, the geriatric spine, and degenerative cervical disorders. The ninth section addresses selected advanced surgical techniques, such as posterior occipital fixation, image guidance, and the use of bone morphogenetic protein in the lumbar spine. The final section is devoted to complications of cervical spine surgery.

Readers will benefit from the wisdom and expertise of the section editors in their commentaries.

The assignment to these editors, Dr. Bono said, was to answer the following questions:

• Can you put the relevance of these articles into a current framework?
• What do the articles in this section say about spine surgery?
• How are these topics reflected in your practice?
• Do the treatment and surgical techniques discussed match the common clinical practice?

Instructional Course Lectures Spine 2 is available for $109 to AAOS members ($129 for nonmembers and $89 for residents). To order, call AAOS Customer Service at (800) 626-6726, or visit the Educational Resource Catalog.

Terry Stanton is senior science writer for AAOS Now. He can be reached at tstanton@aaos.org