Objective To compare the effectiveness of different puncture methods of the flexible bone cement delivery device in unilateral percutaneous curved vertebroplasty for osteoporotic vertebral upper 1/3 compression fractures. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 67 patients with osteoporotic vertebral upper 1/3 compression fractures who were admitted and met the selection criteria between January 2023 and April 2024. The patients were divided into two groups based on the puncture method of the flexible bone cement delivery device: the oblique puncture group (n=37) and the parallel puncture group (n=30). There was no significant difference (P>0.05) between the two groups in terms of gender, age, bone mineral density (T value), distribution of fractured vertebrae, time from injury to operation, and preoperative visual analogue scale (VAS) score for pain, Oswestry disability index (ODI), anterior vertebral height of the fractured vertebra, and Cobb angle of the fractured vertebra. The following parameters were compared between the two groups: operation time, incidence of secondary puncture, incidence of bone cement leakage, volume of injected bone cement, bone cement distribution score, as well as VAS score, ODI, anterior vertebral height of the fractured vertebra, and Cobb angle of the fractured vertebra at 1 day after operation and at last follow-up. Results Two cases in the oblique puncture group and 7 cases in the parallel puncture group underwent secondary puncture during operation, and the difference in the incidence of secondary puncture was significant (P<0.05). No complications such as bone cement hypersensitivity, bone cement embolism, nerve injury, or epidural hematoma occurred in both groups. There was no significant difference in operation time, volume of injected bone cement, incidence of bone cement leakage, distribution score and rating of bone cement between the two groups (P>0.05). All patients were followed up 6-18 months (mean, 12.0 months), and there was no significant difference in the follow-up time between the two groups (P>0.05). No further fracture collapse or compression occurred in the fractured vertebra during follow-up. Both groups exhibited significant improvements in VAS score, ODI, anterior vertebral height, and Cobb angle of the fractured vertebra after operation compared to baseline (P<0.05). There were also significant differences between the two time points after operation (P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the above indicators between the two groups (P>0.05). Conclusion For osteoporotic vertebral upper 1/3 compression fractures treated with unilateral percutaneous curved vertebroplasty, both oblique and parallel puncture methods of the flexible bone cement delivery device can effectively relieve pain, but the former is more conducive to reducing the incidence of secondary puncture.
ObjectiveTo compare the effectiveness of short-segment and long-segment bone cement-augmented fixation combined with vertebroplasty in treatment of stage Ⅲ Kümmell disease.MethodsA clinical data of 44 patients with stage Ⅲ Kümmell disease met the selection criteria between January 2014 and December 2017 was retrospectively analyzed. Eighteen cases were treated with short-segment bone cement-augmented fixation combined with vertebroplasty (short-segment group) and 26 cases were treated with long-segment bone cement-augmented fixation combined with vertebroplasty (long-segment group). There was no significant difference in gender, age, disease duration, fracture segment, bone mineral density (T value), Frankle grading, and preoperative pain visual analogue scale (VAS) score, Oswestry disability index (ODI), anterior edge height of injured vertebrae, kyphosis Cobb angle, and thoracolumbar kyphosis (TLK) between the two groups (P>0.05). The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, bone cement injection volume, bone cement leakage rate, VAS score, ODI, anterior edge height of injured vertebrae, kyphosis Cobb angle, and TLK were compared between the two groups.ResultsThe operation time and the intraoperative blood loss in the short- segment group were significant lower than those in the long-segment group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in bone cement injection volume and bone cement leakage rate between the two groups (P>0.05). All patients were followed up 12-36 months, with an average of 24.4 months. The VAS score, ODI, anterior edge height of injured vertebrae, kyphosis Cobb angle, and TLK significantly improved at 1 week after operation and last follow-up in the two groups (P<0.05), there was no significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05). At last follow-up, the neurological function of the two groups recovered, and there was no significant difference in Frankle grading between the two groups (P>0.05). There were 3 cases (16.67%) of non-surgical vertebral fractures in the short-segment group and 6 cases (23.08%) in the long-segment group, showing no significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05). Bone rejection occurred in 1 case in the short-segment group, and neither internal fixation failure nor collapse of the injured vertebrae occurred during follow-up.ConclusionBoth short-segment and long-segment bone cement-augmented fixation combined with vertebroplasty can achieve good effectiveness in treatment of stage Ⅲ Kümmell disease, and can maintain the height of the injured vertebra and prevent the collapse of the injured vertebra. Compared with long-segment fixation, short-segment fixation has the advantages of shorter operation time and less intraoperative bleeding.
Objective To evaluate the feasibility and safety of percutaneous endoscopic technique in the treatment of intraspinal cement leakage after percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP). Methods Between May 2014 and March 2016, 5 patients with lower limb pain and spinal cord injury caused by intraspinal cement leakage after PVP, were treated with percutaneous endoscopic spinal decompression. Of 5 cases, 3 were male and 2 were female, aged from 65 to 83 years (mean, 74.4 years). The course of disease was 10-30 days (mean, 16.2 days). Imageological examinations confirmed the levels of cement leakage at T 12, L 1 in 3 cases, and at L 1, 2 in 2 cases; bilateral sides were involved in 1 case and unilateral side in 4 cases. Two patients had lower limb pain, whose visual analogue scale (VAS) were 8 and 7; 3 patients had lower extremities weakness, whose Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) 29 scores were 18, 20, and 19. According to American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) impairment scale, neural function was rated as grade E in 2 cases and grade D in 3 cases. Results The operation time was 55-119 minutes (mean, 85.6 minutes), and the blood loss was 30-80 mL (mean, 48 mL). CT scan and three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction at 1 day after operation showed that cement leakage was removed in all patients. Five cases were followed up 6-21 months (mean, 12 months). In 2 patients with lower limb pain, and VAS score was significantly decreased to 2 at last follow-up. In 3 patients with lower extremities weakness, the muscle strength was improved progressively, and the JOA29 scores at last follow-up were 21, 23, and 22. Conclusion Percutaneous endoscopic technique for intraspinal cement leakage after PVP is safe, effective, and feasible.
Objective To investigate the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of patients with thoracolumbar osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) treated by percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP). MethodsThe clinical and imaging data of 681 patients with thoracolumbar OVCF treated with PVP between January 2017 and December 2021 were collected. The epidemiological and clinical characteristics of the patients with thoracolumbar OVCF in single center were summarized from the aspects of demographic distribution (mainly including gender, age), fracture characteristic analysis [including pathological segments, bone mineral density, and body mass index (BMI)], and operation related results (including the distribution of unilateral and bilateral puncture and bone cement injection, postoperative effectiveness analysis and refracture). ResultsOf the 681 patients, 134 (19.68%) were male and 547 (80.32%) were female, with a male-to-female ratio of 1∶4.08. The age ranged from 53 to 105 years, with an average of 75.3 years. The age group of 60-90 years old had the largest number of patients (91.04%); the high incidence age group of men was 70-90 years old (13.95%), and that of women was 60-80 years old (72.98%). A total of 836 vertebrae were involved, and the morbidity of thoracolumbar vertebrae (T11-L1) was the highest (56.34%, 471/836). The main type of fracture was compression fracture (92.58%, 774/836) and Kümmell disease (7.42%, 62/836). There were 489 cases (71.81%) of osteoporosis, including 66 males and 423 females, with a male-to-female ratio of 1∶6.42. There was significant difference in distribution of bone mineral density between male and female groups (Z=–5.810, P<0.001). BMI showed 206 cases (30.25%) of underweight, 347 (50.95%) cases of normal, 58 cases (8.52%) of overweight, 42 cases (6.17%) of obese, and 28 cases (4.11%) of extremely obese. The difference in BMI distribution between male and female groups was significant (Z=–2.220, P=0.026). Of 836 vertebral bodies, 472 (56.46%) were punctured unilaterally and 364 (43.54%) bilaterally. Most of the vertebral bodies (49.88%, 417/836) were injected with 5.0-6.9 mL bone cement, and most of them were distributed in thoracolumbar and lumbar vertebral bodies (T11-L3). The visual analogue scale (VAS) score and Oswestry disability index (ODI) of patients with unilateral puncture and bilateral puncture significantly improved at 6 months after operation (P<0.001), and also the difference was significant between the two groups in the difference of pre- and post-operation (P<0.001). There were 628 cases (92.22%) with the first occurrence of OVCF, and 53 cases (7.78%) with two or more times of OVCF, all of which were female patients, and 26 cases (49.06%) occurred in the adjacent segment of the previous PVP operation. ConclusionFemale were more than male in OVCF patients. Thoracolumbar vertebral body has the highest morbidity. Patients with low BMI are more likely to have osteoporosis, and patients with high BMI have a higher risk of compression fracture. The amount of bone cement injected through bilateral puncture was greater than that through unilateral puncture.
Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of robot-assisted percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) in the treatment of osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) in the elderly. Methods The clinical data of 90 elderly patients with OVCF treated in Sichuan Science City Hospital between June 2019 and March 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into robot-assisted group (40 cases) and C-arm-assisted group (50 cases). The pre- and post-operative Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score, pre- and post-operative Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) score, intraoperative cement leakage, intraoperative fluoroscopy frequency, operation time, and the loss of hemoglobin were recorded and compared between the two groups. Results The incidence of intraoperative cement leakage (5% vs. 20%), intraoperative fluoroscopy frequency [(18.3±3.2) vs. (41.3±7.8) times], operation time [(28.3±4.6) vs. (43.2±7.3) min] and the loss of hemoglobin [(7.2±2.0) vs. (15.2±4.4) g/L] of the robot-assisted group were less than those of the C-arm-assisted group (P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in the decrease of VAS score or ODI score (3.63±1.64 vs. 3.40±1.65, P>0.05; 50.70±4.95 vs. 52.10±6.69, P>0.05). Conclusions Robot-assisted PVP for elderly patients with OVCF can significantly reduce the risk of cement leakage, shorten the operation time, reduce the intraoperative fluoroscopy frequency, and reduce the surgical hidden blood loss. It can be used for clinical promotion and application.
Objective To explore the feasibility and effectiveness of vertebroplasty with reverse designed unilateral targeted puncture in treatment of osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) by comparing with curved unilateral puncture. Methods A total of 52 patients with OVCF met selection criteria and were admitted between January 2019 and June 2021 were selected as the research objects. According to the random number table method, they were divided into two groups (n=26). In trial group, the reverse designed unilateral targeted puncture was used in the percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP); while the control group used the curved unilateral puncture. There was no significant difference in gender, age, bone mineral density (T value), cause of injury, time from injury to operation, the level of responsible vertebral body, pedicle diameter of the planned puncture vertebral body, and preoperative visual analogue scale (VAS) score, anterior vertebral height, and Cobb angle between the two groups (P>0.05). The operation time, bone cement injection volume and leakage, intraoperative radiation exposure times, and hospitalization costs in the two groups were recorded. VAS score was used to evaluate the relief degree of low back pain after operation. X-ray film was used to review the diffusion degree of bone cement in the responsible vertebral body, and Cobb angle and anterior vertebral height were measured. Results The operation was successfully completed in the two groups. Patients in the two groups were followed up 12-18 months, with an average of 13.6 months. The operation time, volume of injected bone cement, intraoperative radiation exposure times, and hospitalization costs in the trial group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). With the prolongation of time, the low back pain of the two groups gradually relieved, and the VAS score significantly decreased (P<0.05). And there was no significant difference in VAS score between the two groups at each time point (P>0.05). There were 2 cases (7.6%) of bone cement leakage in the trial group and 3 cases (11.5%) in the control group, and no significant difference was found in the incidence of bone cement leakage and the diffusion degree of bone cement between the two groups (P>0.05). Imaging examination showed that compared with pre-operation, the anterior vertebral height of the two groups significantly increased and Cobb angle significantly decreased at 2 days and 1 year after operation (P<0.05); while compared with 2 days before operation, the anterior vertebral height of the two groups significantly decreased and Cobb angle significantly increased at 1 year after operation (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the above indexes between the two groups at different time points after operation (P>0.05). Conclusion Compared with curved unilateral puncture, the use of reverse designed unilateral targeted puncture during PVP in the treatment of OVCF can not only achieve similar effectiveness, but also has the advantages of less radiation exposure, shorter operation time, and less hospitalization costs.
ObjectiveTo systematically review the efficacy of zoledronic acid (ZOL) on postoperative osteoporosis vertebral fracture (OVFs) of patients undergoing percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) or percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP).MethodsWe searched databases including PubMed, EMbase, CBM, CNKI, VIP and WanFang Data to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about ZOL on postoperative OVFs of patients undergoing PVP or PKP from inception to June 30th, 2016. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk bias of included studies. Then, RevMan 5.3 software was used for meta-analysis.ResultsA total of 11 RCTs involving 950 cases of OVFs were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that: the bone mineral densities of the ZOL group at 6 months (SMD=0.62, 95%CI 0.06 to 1.18, P=0.03) and 12 months (SMD=1.32, 95%CI 0.62 to 2.02, P=0.000 2) after the operation were higher than those of the control group. The re-fracture risk of the ZOL group was lower than that of the control group (RR=0.27, 95%CI 0.16 to 0.47, P<0.000 01). The visual analogue scales of the ZOL group were lower than those of the control group at 3 weeks (SMD=–1.03, 95%CI –1.42 to –0.63, P<0.000 01), 1 month (SMD=–1.57, 95%CI –2.30 to –0.83, P<0.000 01), 3 months (SMD=–1.53, 95%CI –2.20 to –0.86, P<0.000 01), 6 months (SMD=–2.59, 95%CI –3.42 to –1.76, P<0.000 01), and 12 months (SMD=–2.69, 95%CI –4.21 to –1.18, P=0.000 5) after the operation. In addition, Oswestry disability index (ODI) score of the ZOL group was better than that of the control group at 1 year after the operation (SMD=–1.61, 95% CI–2.42 to –0.81, P<0.000 1).ConclusionsThe current evidence shows that the usage of ZOL after PVP/PKP has better effects, it relieves the pain further, increases the quantity of bone significantly, ameliorates the BMD, reduces the incidence of re-fracture and improves the quality of life. Due to the limited quantity and quality of included studies, more high-quality studies are needed to verify the above conclusion.
Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of Confidence high viscosity bone cement system and postural reduction in treating acute severe osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF). Methods Between June 2004 and June2009, 34 patients with acute severe OVCF were treated with Confidence high viscosity bone cement system and postural reduction. There were 14 males and 20 females with an average age of 72.6 years (range, 62-88 years). All patients had single thoracolumbar fracture, including 4 cases of T11, 10 of T12, 15 of L1, 4 of L2, and 1 of L3. The bone density measurement showed that T value was less than —2.5. The time from injury to admission was 2-72 hours. All cases were treated with postural reduction preoperatively. The time of reduction in over-extending position was 7-14 days. All patients were injected unilaterally. The injected volume of high viscosity bone cement was 2-6 mL (mean, 3.2 mL). Results Cement leakage was found in 3 cases (8.8%) during operation, including leakage into intervertebral space in 2 cases and into adjacent paravertebral soft tissue in 1 case. No cl inical symptom was observed and no treatment was pearformed. No pulmonary embolism, infection, nerve injury, or other complications occurred in all patients. All patients were followed up 12-38 months (mean, 18.5 months). Postoperatively, complete pain rel ief was achievedin 31 cases and partial pain refief in 3 cases; no re-fracture or loosening at the interface occurred. At 3 days after operation and last follow-up, the anterior and middle vertebral column height, Cobb angle, and visual analogue scale (VAS) score were improved significantly when compared with those before operation (P lt; 0.05)；and there was no significant difference between 3 days and last follow-up (P gt; 0.05). Conclusion Confidence high viscosity bone cement system and postural reduction can be employed safely in treating acute severe OVCF, which has many merits of high viscosity, long time for injection, and easy-to-control directionally.
Objective To investigate the clinical therapeutic effects on malignant spinal tumors treated by percutaneous vertebroplasty(PVP) under the guidance of the digital subtraction angiography(DSA). Methods A retrospective analysis was performed in 196 patients (99 males and 97 females, aged 23-85 years, averaged 60.4 years) with malignant spinal tumors, who underwent the PVP treatment combined with standard chemotherapy and other comprehensive treatment from January 2002 to January 2005. The malignant spinal tumors had their origins as follows: lung cancer (66 cases), breast cancer (55 cases), liver cancer (19 cases), colon cancer (15 cases), stomach cancer (9 cases), prostate cancer (12 cases), multiple myeloma (16 cases), and malignant lymphoma of the spine (4 cases).The metastatic tumors involved the cervical vertebra (32 cases), thoracic vertebra (93 cases), lumbar vertebra (71 cases), and spinal column, including 1 vertebral segment (135 cases), 2 segments (50 cases), and more than 3 segments (11 cases). During the follow-up survey, changes in the visual analogue pain scale(VAS) and changes in the X-ray measurements of the average anterior height, midline height, and posterior height of the diseased vertebra were observed. Results The follow-up for 6 months to 3 years revealed that the percutaneous vertebroplasty on279 vertebral segments had a success with an operational success rate of 100%. Bone cement was injected into the lesions 1-9 ml per segment of the spine. The postoperative X-ray and CT evaluations revealed that spinal stabilization was obtained in all the patients. After operation, 193（98.5%）patients had an obvious decrease or disappearance of the pain in the lower back, and only 3 (1.5%) patients had no obvious improvement in the pain. There was a significant statist-ical difference in the VAS scores between before operation and after operation (Plt;0.05). There were also significant statistical differences in the average anterior height of the diseased vertebra between before operation and after operation（15.71±2.80 mm vs 16.61±3.01 mm）, in the midline height（13.65±2.93 mm vs 14.52±2.72 mm）, and in the posterior height（23.67±2.81 mm vs 23.70±3.13 mm,Plt;0.05). The patients with lung or liver cancer had a mean survival time of 9 monthsafter PVP; the patients with breast cancer, stomach cancer, prostate cancer, lymphoma, or other metastatic tumors had a mean survival time of 18 months. The patients with multiple myeloma had a mean survival time of 27 months. The differences were statistically different (Plt;0.01). Conclusion PVP under the guidance of the DSA is an easier operation witha small wound and few complications. It can effectively alleviate the patient’s pain due to metastatic spinal tumor, stabilize the spine, improve the patient’s quality of life, and reduce the incidence of paraplegia.
Objective To explore the effectiveness of unilateral percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) through mild side and severe side approaches in the treatment of elderly osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF). Methods The clinical data of 100 patients with OVCF with symptoms on one side who were admitted between June 2020 and June 2021 and met the selection criteria were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into the severe side approach group (group A) and the mild side approach group (group B) according to the cement puncture access during PVP, with 50 cases in each group. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of general information such as gender composition, age, body mass index, bone density, damaged segments, disease duration, and chronic comorbidities (P>0.05). The lateral margin height of the vertebral body on the operated side in group B was significantly higher than that of group A (P<0.001). The pain level and spinal motor function were evaluated using the pain visual analogue scale (VAS) score and Oswestry disability index (ODI) before operation, at 1 day, 1 month, 3 months, and 12 months after operation in both groups, respectively. Results No intraoperative or postoperative complications such as bone cement allergy, fever, incision infection, and transient hypotension occurred in both groups. Four cases of bone cement leakage occurred in group A (3 cases of intervertebral leakage and 1 case of paravertebral leakage), and 6 cases of bone cement leakage occurred in group B (4 cases of intervertebral leakage, 1 case of paravertebral leakage, and 1 case of spinal canal leakage), and none of them had neurological symptoms. Patients in both groups were followed up 12-16 months, with a mean of 13.3 months. All fractures healed and the healing time ranged from 2 to 4 months, with a mean of 2.9 months. The patients had no complication related to infection, adjacent vertebral fracture, or vascular embolism during follow-up. At 3 months postoperatively, the lateral margin height of the vertebral body on the operated side in groups A and B were improved when compared with preoperative ones, and the difference between pre- and post-operative lateral margin height of the vertebral body in group A was higher than that in group B, all showing significant differences (P<0.001). The VAS scores and ODI in both groups improved significantly at all postoperative time points when compared with those before operation, and further improved with time after operation (P<0.05). The differences in VAS scores and ODI between the two groups before operation were not significant (P>0.05); VAS scores and ODI in group A were significantly better than those in group B at 1 day, 1 month, and 3 months after operation (P<0.05), but no significant difference was found between the two groups at 12 months after operation (P>0.05). Conclusion Patients with OVCF have more severe compression on the more symptomatic side of the vertebral body, and patients with PVP have better pain relief and better functional recovery when cement is injected through the severe symptomatic side.