An HS, Sing K, eds. Synopsis of Spine Surgery. 3rd ed. Thieme; 2016; 384 pp; 313 ill; $89.99

Synopsis of Spine Surgery by Drs. An and Singh is a short, 384-page softcover that highlights key concepts in spine surgery. Material is covered in a bullet-like format and accompanied by drawings and some imaging (CT, MR, plain radiographs). Twenty six chapters cover subjects from the craniovertebral junction to the sacral region. Cartoons also accompany many of the surgical descriptions, making the approaches to the spine, in all areas, more understandable.

Probably of greatest interest to a radiologist would be the chapters on pediatric and adult spine deformities. Here we gain an appreciation of what is felt to be of greatest importance to the surgeon from an imaging point of view. Concepts and measurements of balance lines, pelvic incidence/tilt, and other metrics are shown and discussed. How instrumentation is positioned and the effect of hardware and biologics is instructive.

This book is intended for surgical trainees in orthopedics and has limited utility for neuroradiologists.