The results for vertebroplasty treatment of osteoporotic compression fractures appear to be injury stage dependent, with patients in the acute-injury stage needing longer recovery times, and with cement leakage quite common. These findings lead to the conclusion that the subacute stage is optimal for vertebroplasty. Furthermore, it is suggested that the use of spinal orthoses and postsurgical supplementation for the bone matrix reduces the risk of new, adjacent compression fractures and increases anterior interbody restabilization. Importantly, the findings suggest that a presurgical magnetic resonance imaging evaluation is an absolute necessity.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of percutaneous vertebroplasty for patients with symptomatic osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures adjacent to lumbar instrumented circumferential fusion. Between January 2005 and June 2010, eighteen patients in the authors' institution with lumbar instrumented circumferential fusion had adjacent symptomatic osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures. The patients received percutaneous vertebroplasty using polymethylmethacrylate bone cement augmentation. Radiographs and magnetic resonance imaging were used. The visual analog pain scale and modified Brodsky's criteria were used to compare clinical outcomes pre- and postoperatively. Minimum follow-up was 18 months. Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry scan confirmed osteoporosis in all patients. The average interval between fusion surgery and sustaining osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures was 24.8 months. The average interval between sustaining osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures and undergoing percutaneous vertebroplasty was 49.3 days. One-level percutaneous vertebroplasty was performed in 13 patients, and 2 levels were performed in 5 patients. The patients' visual analog pain scale scores improved by an average of 53 points postoperatively. Fifteen patients returned to preinjury activities of daily living. The average restoration of the fractured vertebral body height was 12.1%. No major surgery-related complications, occurred except asymptomatic cement leakage in 3 patients. Elderly patients undergoing lumbar instrumented fusion surgery should be aware of the possibility of adjacent vertebral compression fractures. Percutaneous vertebroplasty is a minimally invasive and effective procedure to treat such adjacent segment disease.
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