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Introduction: Acute septic arthritis of the knee joint is an orthopedic emergency, potentially devastating, which can lead to high morbidity and may even be life-threatening. While any synovial joint can be infected, the knee is the most often affected joint and is involved in about 50 % of the cases. The infection is usually caused by a gram-positive bacteria. The diagnosis is made by synovial fluid aspiration, microbiological analysis and hematological investigations of inflammatory measures. Treatment requires emergency irrigation and debridement of the joint, and intravenous antibiotics. Surgical debridement can be performed either arthroscopically or via open arthrotomy. In recent years, arthroscopic treatment demonstrated more favorable outcomes with better functional outcomes, shorter operative time and hospital stays.

Tuberculosis of the spine (Pott's disease) is the most common skeletal involvement in tuberculosis, and is often accompanied with neurological deficiency. Surgical treatment was previously the mainstay of therapy in cases of Pott's disease with neurological deficiency, but since clinical recovery was found in patients awaiting surgery, conservative management with antibiotic treatment as a first Line treatment has been advocated. This conservative approach may improve the patients' neurological status while avoiding the morbidity and mortality of surgical treatment.

Metastatic disease of the spine occurs in as many as 70% of cancer patients. Patients may present with pain, neurologic deficit, or both. Treatment options include medical therapy, radiation, and surgery. The diversity of patients' conditions, tumors pathology, and the extent of disease complicate decision making and treatment. Treatment goals are palliative, aiming for pain control and maintenance of mobility. A multimodality therapy, results in better outcomes.

Degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is a common cause of disabling back and leg pain, and spinal claudication among older persons. As the population grows older this condition is encountered more frequently. The degeneration of the intervertebral discs and the facet joints results in the narrowing of the spinal canal and neural foramina. Non-operative management is often of limited value and includes physical therapy, anti-inflammatory medications, and the injection of epidural steroids. The condition of a substantial portion of the patients does not deteriorate and remains unchanged. If non-operative treatment fails, surgical treatment should be considered. Surgical success rates as high as 90% have been reported. Few prospective studies have shown an advantage of operative treatment over non-operative treatment. A controversy exists pertaining to whether results in patients who have had surgery after failure of non-operative treatment were less satisfactory than results in patients who were operated at baseline. More randomized prospective studies are needed to obtain clear-cut conclusions regarding this controversy, and other controversies such as the exact role of surgical treatment.