The second edition ofThe Growing Spinehas been extensively revised to cover recent advances in knowledge and management. The book is intended as a comprehensive, one-stop reference for specialists and health professionals who care for young children with spinal deformities. In addition, it will effectively help to standardize the care of these patients. Depending on the etiology, children with spinal deformities are often cared for by multiple specialists, including pediatricians, pediatric orthopaedists or orthopaedic spine surgeons, neurologists, pediatric surgeons, pediatric neurosurgeons, oncologists, and pulmonologists. The multidisciplinary nature of care is reflected inThe Growing Spine, which will be of value for all involved practitioners rather than just orthopaedic specialists. It will also be an ideal reference for nurses, physical therapists, and healthcare professionals in training, who are usually unfamiliar with spinal deformities in children.

Behrooz A. Akbarnia, MD, is Clinical Professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of California, San Diego and Medical Director of the San Diego Center for Spinal Disorders, La Jolla, California, a position he has held since 1990. In addition he is Director Emeritus of the San Diego Spine Fellowship Program and was previously a Fellowship Director of the program. Dr. Akbarnia has had a long and distinguished career, during which he has also served as Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Professor of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at St. Louis University. He has received various awards, including a Lifetime Service Award from the Western Orthopaedic Association, the Walter P. Blount Humanitarian Award from the Scoliosis Research Society, and Orthopaedic Educational Achievement Awards from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He has been President and Founder of the San Diego Spine Foundation and the Growing Spine Foundation and in 2005-6 was President of the Scoliosis Research Society. Dr. Akbarnia has served on various journal editorial boards and is the author of 100 papers in refereed journals.

Muharrem Yazici is Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey, having been appointed to this position in 2003. He has held numerous positions in medical societies, including as President of the Turkish Society of Pediatric Orthopaedics, President of the European Paediatric Orthopaedic Society, and member of the Board of Directors of the Scoliosis Research Society. Since 2005 he has been an Executive Committee Member of the Growing Spine Study Group. His awards include the 2001 Professor Rdvan Ege Scientific Research Award from the Turkish Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology and 2005 The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey Junior Science Award. Dr. Yazici is an editorial board member for theJournal of Childrens Orthopaedicsand theJournal of Spinal Deformityand has been Deputy Editor ofActa Ortopaedica et Traumatologica Turcica. He is the author of 100 articles in peer-reviewed journals and editor of the previous Springer book,Non-idiopathic Spine Deformities in Young Children.

George H. Thompson, MD, is Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Pediatrics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (appointed 1993) and Director of Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery at Rainbow Babies and Childrens Hospital, University Hospitals Case Medical Center since 1987. He has served on many national committees and held various elected offices in professional societies, including as Chair of the Scientific Committee of the International Federation of Pediatric Orthopaedic Societies and the Shriners Medical Advisory Board. He was President of the Ohio Orthopaedic Society (1997-1999), Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA, 2002-2003) and the Scoliosis Research Society (SRS, 2006-2008). Since 2010 he has been CEO and President of the Société Internationale de Chirugie Orthopédique et de Traumatologie (SICOT) Foundation. In 2013 Dr. Thompson received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the SRS and he has previously been the recipient of the Arthur H. Huene Memorial Award from POSNA/St. Giles Foundation (2008). He has served on a number of journal editorial boards and is a past Associate and Deputy Editor of Pediatric Orthopaedics for theJournal of Bone and Joint Surgery [Am]. Dr. Thompson is currently co-editor of the Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics.  He is the author of more than 150 articles in peer-reviewed journals, 90 textbook chapters and has edited 4 textbooks.

Embryology and Anatomy.- Normal Growth of the Spine and Thorax.- Biomechanics in the Growing Spine.- Genetics.- New Classification System.- Clinical Evaluation.- Normal Lung growth and Thoracic Insufficiency Syndrome.- Imaging of The Growing Spine.- Back Pain in Children.- Pediatric Spinal Infections.- PostOp Infections.- Management of Spine Tumors in Young Children.- Intraspinal Pathology.- Pediatric Spine Trauma.- Sports and Sports Related Injuries .- Spinal Deformity in Metabolic Disorders.- Spinal Manifestations of the Skeletal Dysplasias.- Syndromic Spinal Deformities in the Growing Child.- Idiopathic Scoliosis: Infantile and Juvenile .- Congenital Scoliosis.- Treatment of Spinal Deformity in Cerebral Palsy.- Myelodsplasia.- Spinal Dysraphism.- Other Neuromuscular Diseases.- Neurofibromatosis.- Sagittal Plane Alignment and Deformities.- Spondylolisthesis.- Casting for Early Onset Scoliosis.- Orthotic Management for (I-EOS) Infantile and Juvenile Scoliosis.- Halo-Gravity Traction.- Crankshaft Phenomena Following Spinal Fusion in the Growing Child.- Convex Growth Arrest for Congenital Scoliosis.- Surgical management of Kyphosis in Myelomeningocele.- Hemivertebrectomy.- Vertebral Osteotomy.- Vertebral Resection.- Growing Rods.- VEPTR Expansion Thoracoplasty.- Revision Spine Surgery in the Growing Child.- Anesthetic Considerations In the growing children and repetitive anesthesia.- Intraoperative Neurophysiological Monitoring During Corrective Spine Surgery in the Growing Child.- Nursing Care .- Long- Term Effects of Instrumented Fusion in Growing Children .- Outcomes in Children with Early Onset Scoliosis.- Current Basic Science Research in Growth Modulation and Future Outlook.- Spinal External Fixation .- Growth Guided Instrumentation.- Hybrid Distraction-Based Growing Rods.