Which Is Better for Pain Relief?

A retrospective review of high or mid thoracic vertebral compression fractures (VCF) examined outcomes after either high viscosity cement (HVC) vertebroplasty (VP) or low viscosity cement (LVC) balloon kyphoplasty (BKP) repairs. 114 patients in a single tertiary medical center were included. Outcome measures were comprised of cement injection volume, operation time, leakage rate, and visual analogue scale.

The study concluded, “both HVC VP and LVC BKP groups were safe and effectively achieved pain relief for patients with high to mid-thoracic osteoporotic VCFs. The mean operation time of HVC VP was significantly shorter than that of LVC BKP, but vertebral body height and local kyphosis angle could be corrected better postoperatively by LVC BKP. In addition, HVC VP demonstrated a lower bone cement leakage rate and incidence of adjacent segment fracture compared to LVC BKP. Thus, HVC VP might be a good alternative to LVC BKP in the treatment of osteoporotic VCFs in high to mid-thoracic spine.”

 

Read the journal article.

Other Categories:

• chronic pain

• low back pain

• orthopedics

• osteoarthritis

• pain management

• research/study

• spinal/spine

• Surgery