Oner FC, Vaccaro A, guest eds. Vialle LR, ed. Cervical Spine Trauma. AOSpine Masters Series; vol. 5. Thieme; 2015; 146 pp; 109 ill; $119.99
The latest issue of the AO (Arbeitmeinshaft Für Osteosynthesefragen) Spine Masters Series deals with cervical spine trauma and does it in 16 chapters in 184-page hardcover volume. Edited by Dr. Vialle from Curitiba, Brazil and co-edited by Dr. Oner from Utrecht, The Netherlands and Dr. Vaccaro from the Thomas Jefferson Medical Center in Philadelphia, there are 32 contributors, most of whom are orthopedic surgeons.
This is not a publication directed towards radiologists, although there is short chapter on the injured cervical spine. Included are algorithms for evaluation of the alert, stable spine trauma patient. Wouldn’t it be good if every ER or trauma center followed these widely published criteria? Do not expect to see any examples of advanced MR imaging of the spine and spinal cord.
Of course, scattered throughout the book in the appropriate chapters are examples of typical imaging, which point out the principals raised by the authors. The chapters, besides short ones on anatomy, biomechanisms of injury, and imaging, include injuries of specific areas and handles them chapter-by-chapter—occipital condyle, C1, subaxial distraction injuries, facet/lateral masses, dislocations, cervico-thoracic, injuries in patients with underlying disease, and pediatric injuries.
For a neuroradiologist it is informative to read (and see) how each of those different injuries are treated if surgery is indicated, namely anterior vs posterior decompression and fusion or a combination of these approaches. Treatment of the more difficult traumatic injuries of the C1 and C2 levels is discussed, accompanied by good imaging and drawings.
