Articles & Issues

Indications for, and clinical results of, temporary internal distraction for large rigid spinal deformity curves are reviewed. Use of this technique in 20 patients resulted in 54% initial correction a...

Injuries to the thoracolumbar spine represent some of the most challenging problems that are encountered by spine care providers. The degree of injury can vary from a simple vertebral body compression...

Derotational casting plays an important role in the management of early-onset scoliosis. It appears to be a potential cure in smaller curves, but it is an important surgical delaying tactic in a disor...

Nearly all skeletal dysplasias have spinal manifestations, for example, kyphosis, scoliosis, and vertebral anomalies. Kyphosis may occur in the cervical and thoracolumbar spines or in association with...

In the past decade, pediatric spine surgeons have widely adopted repetitive distraction strategies (vertical expandable prosthetic titanium rib [VEPTR] and growing rods) to manage severe spinal deform...

Early-onset scoliosis refers to scoliosis that present in children aged <5 years. This subset of scoliosis represents a heterogeneous group with a variety of etiologies, types of curves, and curve ...

The management and treatment of spinal deformity in children and adolescents has long been at the very core and indeed is essentially the founding basis of orthopedic surgery. The challenge of managin...

A brief review of the conflicting desires of a medical profession's desire to be relieved of the burden of malpractice litigation in the context of the constitutional framework of the American legal s...

Evidence-based approaches to the treatment of spinal pathology are needed as the field evolves. Patient-reported outcomes have become the standard by which therapeutic success is defined. There are 4 ...

This article provides a general understanding of the fundamental differences between the Canadian and United States health care systems and how they may relate to spine care. Issues regarding sustaina...

Defining value in spine surgery increasingly considers the patient's perspective, a task that requires quantifying outcomes using validated, patient-derived outcome instruments. Both general and disea...

It is an honor to be the Guest Editor for this issue of Seminars in Spine Surgery with the theme of “Social and Legal Ramifications of Spine Care.” We have assembled a stellar group of authors with sp...

Ideally, each patient should be provided with accurate information on outcome and cost and select care based on the best value and personal care preferences. Unfortunately, useful information on outco...

Challenges abound in our quest to define the “Social and Legal Ramifications of Spine Care.” These challenges exist not only in regards the present-day practice of spinal surgery but particularly with...

In this era of constrained resources, spine care professionals are challenged to provide value and justification of resource allocation. For surgeons, this requires demonstration of clinical superiori...