In this book, leading international specialists in the field join forces to discuss topics, issues and approaches that are of key importance in the optimal treatment of lumbar degenerative disk disease. The coverage is wide ranging, from current understanding of physiopathology and genetics and modern imaging techniques through to the diverse minimally invasive, non-fusion, and fusion surgical techniques. Detailed attention is drawn to the most important aspects to be considered when approaching the patient and making treatment decisions. The role of conservative management is appraised, and surgical techniques and their indications are carefully described. In the concluding section, some of the top specialists from across the world reflect on the lessons that they have learned during lifetimes in spinal surgery. Advanced Concepts in Lumbar Degenerative Disk Disease will be an instructive and fascinating source of information for all spine surgeons and other spine care providers.

João Luiz M. C. Pinheiro-Franco was born in 1972. He studied medicine at the Federal University of São Paulo (EPM), Brazil, and subsequently undertook postgraduate courses in neurosurgery at the University of Strasbourg, France and the University of Tübingen, Germany. Dr. Pinheiro-Franco currently works at the Albert Einstein Hospital, São Paulo. He is a member of the Advisory Board for the European Spine Journal and is also a member of the Assistant Editorial Board for Spine. Dr. Pinheiro-Franco is a Committee Member of the Brazilian Society of Spine Neurosurgery (responsibility: international relations) and a member of the Continuing Education Committee of the Brazilian Spine Society. He is also an International Medical Correspondent of the French Red Cross and a Fellow of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies. From 2008 to 2012, Dr. Pinheiro-Franco was President of the Sao Paulo chapter of the Brazilian Academy of Neurosurgery. He has been a Visiting Surgeon at various centers in the United States and Europe.