Percutaneous vertebroplasty for metastatic spine disease with spinal canal compression

Objective To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of percutaneous vertebroplasty(PVP)for patients with metastatic vertebral disease and spinal canal compression. Methods A retrospective study was conducted to review 48 consecutive PVP procedures of 95 metastatic vertebral bodies, including 27 men and 21 women, with mean age 63 ± 9 years (ranged 34 - 80 years). Patients were divided into three groups according to sagittal T2WI manifestation. A group had no spinal canal involvement(n = 17); B group showed spinal canal involvement but without contact with spinal cord or nerve roots(n = 23); C group demonstrated contact with spinal cord or nerve root(n = 8). Procedural safety and clinical efficacy were evaluated at 1 week after the procedure according to WHO standards. Results The total rate of pain relief reached 83.3%(40/48)including remarkable improvement of the pain 94, 1%(16/17)in A group; 82.6%(19/23)and 62.5%(5/8)in B and C group respectively. There were no significant difference in pain relief among the three groups(P 0.05). Three patients appeared with aggravation of radicular pain including one of B group and two in C group. There were no significant differences in the incidence of clinical complications among the three groups(P 0.05 = 0.068). None of them accepted open surgery except for opioid therapy. Conclusions PVP provides significant pain relief and can be performed safely and effectively in patients with metastatic vertebral disease with and without spinal canal compression or even cord involvement.