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Percutaneous vertebroplasty and balloon kyphoplasty are increasingly popular new interventions for painful vertebral compression fractures. In percutaneous vertebroplasty, a trocar is inserted into the vertebral body, and polymethylmethacrylate cement is injected. In balloon kyphoplasty, a balloon is inflated inside the compressed vertebral body to restore height before cement is injected. In 2 reports, researchers described outcomes with these procedures in patients with ongoing pain despite medical management.
A retrospective, multicenter, U.S. study included 245 patients who underwent vertebroplasty. Mean self-reported pain scores decreased from 8.9 (on a 10-point scale) before vertebroplasty to 3.4 after vertebroplasty. The proportion of…