Kim DH, Sengupta DK, Cammis Jr FP, Yoon DH, Fessler RG, eds. Dynamic Reconstruction of the Spine. 2nd ed. Thieme; 2015; 480 pp; 661 ill; $249.99

For those radiologists who are part of a large spine surgery center where significant spine reconstructive surgery is performed, this 450-page hardcover book edited by Drs. Kim, Sengupta, Cammisa, Yoon, and Fessler could serve as an occasional reference in understanding the rationale of instrumented spine procedures.

Over 100 authors contribute to this authoritative text and allows one to see in imaging and in drawings what actually is being done and the reasoning behind the surgery. As we all know, how patients with spine disorders are treated varies from surgeon to surgeon, from geographic area to geographic area, and, as skeptics may say, from reimbursement to reimbursement. Those many factors, be as they may, still require that neuroradiologists have some basic understanding of the biomechanics, material, and surgical approach used. Aside from sporadic papers in the radiology literature, information on topics as seen here is difficult to find in our literature. Nonetheless, we are faced with imaging showing the varying types of instrumentation on nearly a daily basis. Like many other topics in medicine, once a subject is appreciated in some depth, interpretation of the associated images become more interesting and of greater value to the surgeon.

The book is structured along the following lines or parts:

• Motion Preservation of the Spine (3 chapters)
• Clinical Biomechanics of the Spine (8 chapters)
• Restoration of the Cervical Movement Segment (11 chapters)
• Restoration of the Lumbar Movement Segment (34 chapters)
• Advancements in Lumbar Motion Preservation (6 chapters)

While many chapters are not particularly germane to radiology, such as those which delve deeply into biomechanics, others are, such as those on complications; indications for disc arthroplasty; nomenclature and appearance of many hardware devices; anterior and lateral approaches to the lumbar spine; the many types of disc prostheses and how to test postoperatively for their stability; adjacent level degeneration; and hypertrophic bone formation.

Although this is not a book radiologists would want to purchase, it is worth noting that there is one tome that has compiled all this information and can be referenced as needed.