Intraoperative sonography in spinal surgery: current state of the art

Intraoperative spinal sonography (IOSS) has significant impact on the surgical management of spinal lesions. This paper describes the techniques involved, illustrates the sonographic anatomy of the spinal canal and its contents and discusses the role of IOSS in the surgical management of spinal trauma, spinal tumors, spinal stenosis and congenital anomalies.