An elderly woman had an expanding cervical mass that entrapped and compressed the adjacent cranial nerves, blood vessels, and muscles. The mass was dense on radiographs, extended from the skull base to low neck in the prevertebral and parapharyngeal tissues, and showed mixed intensity on MR. A previous direct carotid arteriogram with thorium dioxide as the contrast agent suggested the histologi...

A 49-year-old male patient underwent an exploratory laparoscopy for a lumbosacral prevertebral mass which caused right hydronephrosis by extrinsic ureteral stricture. The diagnosis of idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis (IRPF) was made by the laparoscopic biopsy. We then proceeded to perform successfully laparoscopic ureterolysis and intraperitonealization of the ureter on the patient. Laparosc...

Anterior spinal infection (prevertebral abscess and/or discitis) after posterior instrumentation for vertebral fractures is a challenging complication, since a new implant may become necessary anteriorly, in a septic environment. Generally accepted management guidelines are yet to be established. The authors present a case of posterior instrumentation for fractures of T12 and L1, complicated af...