Combined percutaneous transpedicular tumor debulking and kyphoplasty for pathological compression fractures. Technical note

Percutaneous balloon kyphoplasty has become a widely adopted treatment option for patients with pain due to pathological compression fractures. One potential risk of the procedure is the displacement of tumor into the spinal canal and resulting spinal cord or cauda equina injury during inflation of the balloon prior to polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) placement. In addition, the presence of any remaining tumor between the PMMA and the fractured cortical bone can lead to suboptimal improvement in stabilization and subsequent pain relief. The authors describe a technique to remove tumor from within the vertebral body (VB) through a percutaneous working channel prior to kyphoplasty balloon inflation and augmentation. The technique was successfully used in all three patients who had presented with pain, and the pain improved in all three cases. There was no extravasation of PMMA into the spinal canal in any case. A combined VB tumor debulking and kyphoplasty technique offers the ability to improve the placement of PMMA within the diseased vertebral body, potentially leading to increased safety as well as clinical effectiveness for stabilization of these fractures.