Thoracic Vertebral Body Osteoporotic Fracture Treated With Percutaneous Vertebroplasty

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness and procedure of percutaneous vertebroplasty(PVP)for the treatment of the pain caused by thoracic vertebral body osteoporotic fracture.Methods 61 cases suffering from fresh thoracic vertebral body osteoporotic frac-tures,underwent PVP guided by C-arm fluoroscopy in prone position.Visual analgesic scale(VAS)were measured in each patient at 1 day,1 week,1 month,6 months post-PVP.Results PVP procedures were successful in 93 vertebral bodies of compression fracture.The volume of polymethylmethacrylate(PMMA)injected into each vertebral body was from 2.5 ml to 4 ml without serious complication,54 patients had significant relief of pain after the procedure.Before PVP,the VAS score was 8.42 ± 1.96 compared to a score of 2.76 ± 1.64 after operation.The mean difference in VAS score was significant(p 0.01).The mean difference in VAS score was not significant(p 0.05)at 1 day,1 week,1 month,3 months and 6 months after PVP.Conclusion Percutaneous vertebroplasty is a safe and rapid effective method in treatment of the pain caused by thoracic vertebral body osteoporotic fractures,but also is a relatively complicated and high risk operation.