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The Spine and Medical Negligence

R.W. Porter. BIOS Scientific Publishers, 1998. 200 pages. £19.95. ISBN 1-85996-126-6

Hamilton, Ontario

This is a well written book by a former Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery from the University of Aberdeen, UK, and the Director of Education and Training at the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh, UK. The volume comprehensively covers the medical and legal aspects of spinal surgery and will be useful to pain specialists, physiotherapists, chiropractors and osteopaths. The book with case studies describes the complications and consequences of spinal surgery. It is directed to doctors, as well as lawyers, who may be involved in cases of negligence and/or litigation. Some of the clinical information will be simplistic to the surgeon, but it has been included to help the lawyer who may not be familiar with medical details. The book contains a glossary of terms to help the non-medical readers and references to explore the medical literature in detail.

Despite refined diagnostic and surgical techniques, more patients allege negligence after spinal surgery than after any other type of operation. It is inevitable and unfortunate that mistakes are occasionally made and this book explains where they may be avoided. Good practice as well as minimum standards of care are also defined.

The book also examines negligence in relation to spine surgery. Allegations are frequently about lack of informed consent, technical complications and system failures, poor surgical performance, misdiagnosis, and failure to identify and manage complications. I found the book to be useful and informative and highly relevant in view of the high incidence of back problems in our society.

This Article Full Text (PDF) Submit a scholarly reply Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Fargas-Babjak, A. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Fargas-Babjak, A.