Percutaneous Vertebroplasty for Pregnancy-Associated Osteoporotic Vertebral Compression Fractures

Osteoporosis is a worldwide problem and it mainly affects postmenopausal women. Osteoporosis associated with pregnancy or lactation is a rare condition. The incidence and mechanism of this phenomenon has not been clarified, but it can cause one or more vertebral compression fractures with severe, prolonged back pain in the affected women. We experienced this uncommon case, treated it with percutaneous vertebroplasty. A 35-old-woman visited our hospital with complaints of severe back pain and flank pain 2 months after normal vaginal delivery. She was diagnosed with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures on the T5, 8, 9 and 11 vertebral bodies and we performed percutaneous vertebroplasty on the T8, 9 and 11 vertebrae with a good result. We present here an unusual case of pregnancy-associated compression fractures treated by percutaneous vertebroplasty.

A case of postpregnancy spinal osteoporosis / 대한내과학회지

Osteoporosis associated with pregnancy is rare, but it is accompanied by a substantial bone loss, resulting in fracture by minimal trauma. Nevertheless, this clinical significance is often ignored because the pain in various parts of the body is taken as an integral part of the pregnancy and it is possible that milder forms of this condition go unnoticed. Also, this disease is often confused with a variety of other condition associated with pregnancy and misdiagnosed. Although its etiology is still unknown, but variant theory is speculated. Pregnancy and lactation increase the demand on the maternal skeletal calcium restores and underlying genetic susceptibility may cause it. Recently it has been proposed that PTH-related protein may be an important causative factor. There are three types of the pregnancy associated osteoporosis, a transient osteoporosis of the hip in pregnancy, a postpregnancy spinal osteoporosis and a lactation-associated osteoporosis. We present a case of 24-years old women with postpregnancy spinal osteoporosis that showed multiple lumbar compression fracture and biochemical evidence of increased bone resorption.

A Case of Postpregnancy Spinal Osteoporosis / 대한내분비학회지

Osteoporosis is a common disease of the elderly and occurs especially in the postmenopausal women. Rarely, it occurs during a pregnancy or shortly thereafter and is accompanied by a substantial bone loss, resulting in fractures. The clinical significance of pregnancy-associated osteoporosis has been noted since the 1950s. Although its etiology is still unknown, it has recently been proposed that PTHrP may be an important causative factor in pregnancy-associated osteoporosis. There are three types of the pregnancy-associated osteoporosis, (1) a transient osteoporosis of the hip pregnancy, (2) a postpregnancy spinal osteoporosis and (3) a lactation-associated osteoporosis. Postpregnancy spinal osteoporosis typically occurs within three months after a first delivery and usually involving the axial skeleton accompanied by back pain, bone loss and a fracture. We present a case of postpregnancy spinal osteoporosis that developed three months after a first delivery. Our patient also showed multiple compression fractures in her lumbar spine and biochemical evidence of increased bone resorption.