Tumors of the Spinal Canal

This book presents a focused, case-oriented approach to a specific disease entity: tumors located within the spinal canal. Each tumor type constitutes its own chapter and additional chapters focus on more novel trends in the field, such as radiosurgery and minimally invasive surgical techniques. In each chapter, the authors provide expert opinions on preoperative goals, intraoperative techniques and decision-making, and postoperative paradigms, including surveillance guidelines and thresholds for initiating adjuvant therapy. The management of intradural tumors has become increasingly interdisciplinary, and one of the major goals of this text is to familiarize the treating neurosurgeon with the latest advances in both operative and non-operative strategies. The text seeks to answer two questions: 1) what are the detailed surgical steps taken by these neurosurgeons to ensure safe maximal resection of these tumors? and 2) in cases of residual and recurrent disease, what are the most effective management options? Consensus regarding definitive management remains difficult to reach given the overall rarity of these tumors. Tumors of the Spinal Canal is ultimately a practical reference drawn from the experiences of its individual authors, a compendium of surgical pearls, pitfalls, and preferences, all steeped in the most recent and relevant literature on the subject.