Percutaneous vertebroplasty for vertebral compression fracture

BACKGROUND: Percutaneous vertebroplasty has become an option for the treatment of painful osteoporotic compression fractures in patients in whom conservative medical management has failed. AIM: This paper assessed the effectiveness and safety of percutaneous vertebroplasty in patients with focal pain caused by compression vertebral body fractures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Over a twenty-five-month period 63 patients underwent percutaneous vertebroplasty, and ten of these patients were subsequently retreated, for a total of 73 operations on 93 vertebrae. The patients were affected by osteoporotic compression fractures (n=57) or by benign or malignant infiltrative processes (n=6). All patients were examined at discharge and thereafter to assess the level of pain and investigate possible changes in the quality of life. The mean length of follow-up was 15.2 months. RESULTS: After treatment, almost 90% of patients reported complete disappearance or significant alleviation of the pain. In 7 of 63 of the patient (11%) there were small asymptomatic leakages of cement outside the vertebral body. A substantial number of patients with osteoporosis, 19% of the study population, experienced new fractures following treatment with vertebroplasty. DISCUSSION: Our experience confirms the effectiveness of vertebroplasty to pain caused by vertebral fractures. If the indications are strictly followed, improvement of symptoms is often immediate, allowing the return of mobility, and patient satisfaction with surgery is higher. The use of appropriate systems limits the number of complications.