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Interventional Radiology of the Spine: Image-guided Pain Therapy
Book Review
Interventional Radiology of the Spine: Image-guided Pain Therapy Edited by J. Kevin McGraw Totowa, NJ: Humana Press, 2004, hardbound, $125.00, 223 pp.
This book is a comprehensive text for the clinical evaluation, radiographic diagnosis, and minimally invasive treatment of back pain. It is edited by an interventional radiologist, with contributing authors from the fields of interventional radiology, diagnostic neuroradiology, interventional neuroradiology, orthopedic radiology, and anatomy. The book is specifically intended for the needs of the interventional radiologist, with a stated objective to “provide the practicing interventional radiologist with a single source for evaluating and treating the patient with back pain.” It also is an appropriate text for other practitioners of spine intervention, including orthopedic radiologists, anesthesia pain specialists, and orthopedic surgeons. It competes with recently released texts with similar goals, including Image-guided Spine Intervention (Fenton and Czervionke, 2002; $149), Image-guided Spine Interventions (Johnson et al, 2003; $189), and Atlas of Spine Injection (Renfrew, 2004; $99). The book is divided into two sections: the first includes spinal anatomy, imaging, and clinical evaluation; the second includes interventional spinal procedures. The spinal imaging section includes review of magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, and nuclear medicine techniques, with state-of-the-art images as well as pictures of skeletal anatomy when needed. The pictures and illustrations are clear, original, and well-labeled. The text is easy to understand and thorough in providing the knowledge pertinent to spine intervention. There is an excellent chapter on the clinical evaluation of the spine (including photographs of the physical examination of a patient), which enables any interventional radiologist to acquire the skills needed to examine and evaluate the spine in the clinic setting. This chapter includes clinical clues for differentiating different sources of back pain (discogenic pain vs facet pain vs sacroilitis,
1268
etc), as well as suggested imaging studies needed based on clinical history and physical examination. The second section includes a step-by-step guide for performing percutaneous diagnostic and interventional spine procedures, including biopsy, discography, nerve root blocks, epidural injections, facet injections, sacroiliac injections, intradiscal electrothermal therapy, nucleoplasty, vertebroplasty, and transarterial embolization of the spine. Also, a review on the pharmacology of relevant medications is included. Each description of a procedure includes indications, contraindications, techniques, complications, and results. The techniques sections are wellwritten and easily understood. This book is particularly helpful to the interventional radiologist who may have had limited exposure to spine intervention during training, but finds him- or herself performing spine intervention procedures in daily practice. It is also helpful for those looking to increase the scope of their spine practice into more advanced techniques such as intradiscal electrothermal therapy and nucleoplasty. These goals of the editor are achieved, despite the minor annoyance of many nonhyphenated words being hyphenated (ie, “ankylo-sing”), as well as some fairly dogmatic statements regarding debatable subjects (such as that “antibiotics should always be administered” for discography). Also, discussion of manometric discography was not included. Overall, the editor and chapter authors should be lauded for the quality of this much-needed textbook. I highly recommend this book to the interventional radiologist who performs spine intervention. As the field progresses, I already look forward to the next edition. —reviewed by Timothy B. Daniel, MD
Interventional Radiology of the Spine: Image-guided Pain Therapy Edited by J. Kevin McGraw Totowa, NJ: Humana Press, 2004, hardbound, $125.00, 223 pp.
This book is a comprehensive text for the clinical evaluation, radiographic diagnosis, and minimally invasive treatment of back pain. It is edited by an interventional radiologist, with contributing authors from the fields of interventional radiology, diagnostic neuroradiology, interventional neuroradiology, orthopedic radiology, and anatomy. The book is specifically intended for the needs of the interventional radiologist, with a stated objective to “provide the practicing interventional radiologist with a single source for evaluating and treating the patient with back pain.” It also is an appropriate text for other practitioners of spine intervention, including orthopedic radiologists, anesthesia pain specialists, and orthopedic surgeons. It competes with recently released texts with similar goals, including Image-guided Spine Intervention (Fenton and Czervionke, 2002; $149), Image-guided Spine Interventions (Johnson et al, 2003; $189), and Atlas of Spine Injection (Renfrew, 2004; $99). The book is divided into two sections: the first includes spinal anatomy, imaging, and clinical evaluation; the second includes interventional spinal procedures. The spinal imaging section includes review of magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, and nuclear medicine techniques, with state-of-the-art images as well as pictures of skeletal anatomy when needed. The pictures and illustrations are clear, original, and well-labeled. The text is easy to understand and thorough in providing the knowledge pertinent to spine intervention. There is an excellent chapter on the clinical evaluation of the spine (including photographs of the physical examination of a patient), which enables any interventional radiologist to acquire the skills needed to examine and evaluate the spine in the clinic setting. This chapter includes clinical clues for differentiating different sources of back pain (discogenic pain vs facet pain vs sacroilitis,
1268
etc), as well as suggested imaging studies needed based on clinical history and physical examination. The second section includes a step-by-step guide for performing percutaneous diagnostic and interventional spine procedures, including biopsy, discography, nerve root blocks, epidural injections, facet injections, sacroiliac injections, intradiscal electrothermal therapy, nucleoplasty, vertebroplasty, and transarterial embolization of the spine. Also, a review on the pharmacology of relevant medications is included. Each description of a procedure includes indications, contraindications, techniques, complications, and results. The techniques sections are wellwritten and easily understood. This book is particularly helpful to the interventional radiologist who may have had limited exposure to spine intervention during training, but finds him- or herself performing spine intervention procedures in daily practice. It is also helpful for those looking to increase the scope of their spine practice into more advanced techniques such as intradiscal electrothermal therapy and nucleoplasty. These goals of the editor are achieved, despite the minor annoyance of many nonhyphenated words being hyphenated (ie, “ankylo-sing”), as well as some fairly dogmatic statements regarding debatable subjects (such as that “antibiotics should always be administered” for discography). Also, discussion of manometric discography was not included. Overall, the editor and chapter authors should be lauded for the quality of this much-needed textbook. I highly recommend this book to the interventional radiologist who performs spine intervention. As the field progresses, I already look forward to the next edition. —reviewed by Timothy B. Daniel, MD