Abstract
Aim: To describe technique, indications and results of percutaneous vertebroplasty (PV). Method: PV is accomplished by injecting cement into a vertebral body via a percutaneously placed cannula under imaging guidance. Results: In patients with osteoporotic compression fractures the treatment has to be done as early as a few weeks after the acute onset of the pain that requires parenteral narcotics. Late treatment can be successful in relieving pain particularly in patients with osteonecrosis on the site of the vertebral collapse.
PV is also indicated in patients complaining with severe back pain related to metastatic lesions or myeloma involving vertebral bodies if the lesion is not associated with neurological signs or epidural involvement. PV can be performed before radiation therapy or reserved for patients who have already received maximal dose radiation. PV induced complications are more frequent in these indications and that treatment should be considered after a multidisciplinary discussion.
PV is the treatment of choice in painful and or aggressive vertebral hemangiomas. Association with injection of absolute ethanol is suggested in aggressive forms of that pathology. Conclusion: PV is a standard of care for the treatment of pain resulting from spinal compression fractures and vertebral Hemangiomas.
Theses abstracts were prepared by Professor Dr. Frantz Langlais. Correspondence should be addressed to him at EFORT Central Office, Freihofstrasse 22, CH-8700 Küsnacht, Switzerland.
