Turkish Journal of Geriatrics 2012 , Vol 15, Issue 1
PROGRESSIVE SUBSEQUENT ADJACENT AND NONADJACENT VERTEBRAL COMPRESSION FRACTURES WITHIN A SHORT PERIOD AFTER MULTIPLE PERCUTANEOUS VERTEBROPLASTIES
Ki Seong EOM, Tae Young KIM
Wonkwang University School of Medicine, Neurosurgery, Iksan, KORE (Kuzey) Percutaneous vertebroplasty (PV) is currently performed in patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (VCFs) who present with severe mechanical back pain, have restricted mobility, and require narcotic analgesics. However, sudden development of postoperative VCFs is not a rare complication, for which an additional PV is frequently performed. Here, we present a rare case of progressive subsequent adjacent and nonadjacent VCFs in many vertebral bodies that developed within a short period after multiple PVs were performed. We performed PV 6 times at 10 levels within an approximate 3.5-month period. Every time the patient visited us because of severe back pain, her vertebral condition was reassessed by repeated radiographs and MRI. PV was performed each time a newly developed VCF was detected. Fortunately, no complications occurred after PV. We also review previous reports and discuss the possible pathogenesis of this rare complication. Keywords : Vertebroplasty; Osteoporosis; Fractures, Compression