[Current trends in surgery of the spine]

This paper is based on an invited lecture given at the SICOT 87 meeting in Munich. The topics discussed include: selective spinal arteriography in the management of tumours, which enables definition of the vascular supply of the cord and of the tumour and may facilitate preoperative embolisation; MRI, which allows visualisation of both bone and soft tissue; the pathogenesis of transverse fractures of the upper sacrum; the management of malunion of fractures of the thoracolumbar spine by a three stage procedure, in which an initial posterior approach allows osteotomy and definition of the pedicle, a second anterior procedure for correction of the deformity by appropriate resection of the vertebral body, and a final posterior operation in which internal fixation is carried out using pedicular screws and plates. Operation on extradural tumours of the spine is usually palliative for metastases and aims to decompress the cord by laminectomy, stabilising the spine by osteosynthesis. Total removal of a vertebral body may be needed; percutaneous resection is being used increasingly for lumbar disc resection; the development of the Cotrel-Dubousset system and the use of long transpedicular plates allows better reduction of the deformity in scoliosis.