Comparative Analysis of Usefulness of Vertebral Venography on the Percutaneous Vertebroplasty for Osteoporotic Compression Fracture

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Percutaneous vertebroplasty (PV) is a minimally invasive, image-guided therapy used to relieve pain from osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures. Venography before injection of bone cement has been advocated as a means of identifying sites of potential venous leakage during the procedure. However, venography has been used only in selected situations, and its need is debatable. We aimed to analyze the usefulness of venography with percutaneous vertebroplasties for osteoporotic compression fractures and to report our recent experiences in treating such patients. METHODS: One hundred PVs performed on 93 patients were evaluated. To identify the usefulness of venography, our cases were divided into 2 groups. Group A patients had venographies before the PVs, whereas Group B patients were treated without venography. We analyzed their clinical status, pain status, and complications linked to leakage of bone cement. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in any of the collected data for the two groups. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that PVs can be performed safely without venography beforehand. However, venography may be beneficial for less experienced physicians or trainees.