Intra-cardiac Embolism of a Large Bone Cement Material after Percutaneous Vertebroplasty Removed through a Combination of an Endovascular Procedure and an Inferior Vena Cava Exploration: a Case Report

Percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) is a minimally invasive surgical treatment for patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) and can rapidly alleviate pain, improve mobility, and stabilize the vertebrae. However, it has the potential to cause complications such as cement embolism. A 55-year-old female presented with pain in the lumbar region as a chief complaint. PVP was performed after diagnosis of acute OVCFs at L4 and L5. No abnormal symptoms were reported after surgery, but a large cement embolism was observed in her right atrium and ventricle. After discussion in a multi-disciplinary team, the large cement embolism was successfully removed by a combination of endovascular procedure and an inferior vena cava exploration. Surgeons must consider the possibility of intra-cardiac cement embolism after PVP. A hybrid approach of an endovascular procedure and a vascular surgery may be a reasonable treatment option to minimize the surgical procedure in cases of a large intra-cardiac cement embolism.

National Trends in Surgery for Rotator Cuff Disease in Korea

The objective of this study was to investigate the national trends in rotator cuff surgery in Korea and analyze hospital type-specific trends. We analyzed a nationwide database acquired from the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) from 2007 to 2015. International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision (ICD-10) codes, procedure codes, and arthroscopic device code were used to identify patients who underwent surgical treatment for rotator cuff disease. A total of 383,719 cases of rotator cuff surgeries were performed from 2007 to 2015. The mean annual percentage change in the age-adjusted rate of rotator cuff surgery per population of 100,000 persons rapidly increased from 2007 to 2012 (53.3%, P < 0.001), while that between 2012 to 2015 remained steady (2.3%, P = 0.34). The proportion of arthroscopic surgery among all rotator cuff surgeries steadily rose from 89.9% in 2007 to 96.8% in 2015 (P < 0.001). In terms of hospital types, the rate of rotator cuff surgery increased to the greatest degree in hospitals with 30–100 inpatient beds, and isolated acromioplasty procedure accounted for a larger proportion of the rotator cuff surgeries in small hospitals and clinics compared to large hospitals. Overall, our findings indicate that cases of rotator cuff surgery have increased rapidly recently in Korea, of which arthroscopic surgeries account for the greatest proportion. While rotator cuff surgery is a popular procedure that is commonly performed even in small hospitals, there was a difference in the component ratio of the procedure code in accordance with hospital type.

Kyphotic Deformity after Spinal Fusion in a Patient with Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis: A Case Report

STUDY DESIGN: Case report. OBJECTIVES: To report a case of progressive kyphotic deformity after spinal fusion in a patient with diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH). SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW: DISH is characterized by spinal and peripheral enthesopathy, and is a completely different disease from ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Though DISH can be associated with thoracic kyphosis, no reports have described a progressive thoracolumbar kyphotic deformity after spinal fusion surgery in a DISH patient. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A 47-year-old male presented with pain in the thoracolumbar region. After excluding the possibility of AS and confirming the diagnosis of DISH, we performed spinal fusion for the treatment of a T11-T12 flexion-distraction injury. The kyphotic deformity was found to be aggravated after the first operation, and we then performed corrective osteotomy and additional spinal fusion. Results: The kyphotic deformity of the patient was corrected after the second operation. RESULTS: The kyphotic deformity of the patient was corrected after the second operation. CONCLUSIONS: In DISH patients in whom AS must be excluded in the differential diagnosis, a kyphotic deformity can become aggravated despite spinal fusion surgery, so regular and continuous follow-up is required.

A Interventional Study in a Real Life Setting to Assess the Clinical Efficacy and Effect on Fracture in the 1 Year after Injection of Zoledronic Acid in Osteoporotic Patients with Long Bone or Spine, Pelvic Fractures / 대한정형외과학회잡지

PURPOSE: We studied the improvement of back pain in vertebral fracture and fracture healing in non-vertebral fracture after treatment with zoledronate in postmenopausal patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Postmenopausal women with bone mineral density (BMD) T-score of -2.5 or less and existing vertebral fractures or non-vertebral fractures between January 2011 and June 2012 were included. Patients received a single intravenous infusion of zoledronate within 3 days after diagnosis of fractures. The primary outcome was BMD and secondary outcomes were visual analogue scale (VAS) for back pain, fracture healing, and new clinical fracture. RESULTS: T-score increased significantly in the vertebral fracture group (n=97) and non-vertebral fracture group (n=31) at 1 year (p<0.05). The average VAS for back pain decreased significantly in the vertebral fracture group (p<0.05) and there was no delayed union, nonunion in the non-vertebral fracture group. There was no re-fracture and 3 new clinical fractures (2.34%) occurred during the follow-up period. CONCLUSION: Zoledronate, as treatment in postmenopausal osteoporosis patients can improve BMD, reduce back pain in vertebral fracture, and has no negative effect on bone healing after fracture in non-vertebral fracture.