Clinical efficacy and safety of microwave ablation combined with percutaneous osteoplasty for palliative treatment in pelvic osteolytic metastases.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the impact of microwave ablation (MWA) on pain relief, quality of life, mobility, and local tumour progression in adult patients with pelvic osteolytic bone metastasis and to test the safety of MWA. METHODS: This study retrospectively analysed the data from 20 patients with pelvic osteolytic metastases who received MWA combined with percutaneous osteoplasty (POP). The visual analogue scale (VAS), musculoskeletal tumour society system (MSTS), and Quality of Life Questionnaire-Bone Metastases 22 (QLQ-BM22) were used to evaluate the pain, limb function, and quality of life. The intraoperative and postoperative complications were recorded. The tumour recurrence and survival time were analysed during the follow-up period (range 3-26 months). RESULTS: All (n = 20) MWA and POP operations were completed successfully. Four patients (20%; 95% CI, 6%-44%) had mild bone cement leakage from surrounding tissues, and there were no obvious symptoms or serious complications. There were significant differences in VAS, MSTS, and QLQ-BM22 scores before and after the operation (P < .001). During the postoperative follow-up period, 9 patients died. The median survival time was 8 months (range 3-26 months; IQR: 4.5-13; 95% CI, 4.2-15.3 months), and the 1-year survival rate was 65% (13/20; 95% CI, 41%-85%). Tumour recurrence occurred in 4 cases (20%; 95% CI, 6%-44%) after the operation, and the median time of recurrence was 12 months (range 8-16 months; IQR: 8.25-12.75; 95% CI, 5.5-18.5 months). CONCLUSIONS: MWA combined with POP is an effective and safe treatment for pelvic osteolytic metastases. It can significantly relieve local pain, reconstruct limb function, improve patients' quality of life, and effectively control local tumour progression. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE: So far, the experience of using microwave in the treatment of pelvic metastases is still limited. MWA combined with POP in the treatment of pelvic osteolytic metastases can provide significant clinical benefits in acceptable low-risk minimally invasive situations and should be provided to patients with appropriate pelvic metastases in a multidisciplinary approach.

Analgesic efficacy and safety of percutaneous thermal ablation plus cementoplasty for painful bone metastases: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of publications to evaluate the analgesic efficacy and safety of percutaneous thermal ablation (PTA) plus percutaneous cementoplasty (PCP) (PTA + PCP) for painful bone metastases. METHODS: We searched PubMed, Cochrane Library and Embase for articles published up to October 2022. Outcomes were a 10-point pain scale, morphine equivalents daily dose (MEDD) and complications. A subgroup confined to spinal bone metastases was analyzed. RESULTS: Twenty-one articles were selected for the analysis. The 21 selected articles involved a total of 661 cases. The pooled pain scales at pre-PTA + PCP, 1 day, 1 week and 1-, 3-, and 6 months post-PTA + PCP were 7.60 (95% confidence interval [CI], 7.26-7.95, I2 = 89%), 3.30 (95% CI, 2.25-4.82, I2 = 98%), 2.58 (95% CI, 1.99-3.35, I2 = 94%), 2.02 (95% CI, 1.50-2.71, I2 = 93%), 1.78 (95% CI, 1.26-2.53, I2 = 95%), and 1.62 (95% CI, 1.14-2.31, I2 = 88%), and in the subgroup, 7.97 (95% CI, 7.45-8.52, I2 = 86%), 3.01 (95% CI, 1.43-6.33, I2 = 98%), 2.95 (95% CI, 1.93-4.51, I2 = 95%), 2.34 (95% CI, 1.82-3.01, I2 = 68%), 2.18 (95% CI, 1.57-3.03, I2 = 78%), and 2.01 (95% CI, 1.16-3.48, I2 = 86%). Mean MEDD decreased up to 3 months post-PTA + PCP in 4 articles. The overall pooled major complication rate was 4% (95% CI, 2-6%, I2 = 2%). CONCLUSIONS: The updated systematic review and meta-analysis indicates that PTA + PCP for painful bone metastases is safe, and can lead to rapid and sustained pain reduction.

Safety and Feasibility of Steerable Radiofrequency Ablation in Combination with Cementoplasty for the Treatment of Large Extraspinal Bone Metastases.

Background: Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and cementoplasty, individually and in concert, has been adopted as palliative interventional strategies to reduce pain caused by bone metastases and prevent skeletal related events. We aim to evaluate the feasibility and safety of a steerable RFA device with an articulating bipolar extensible electrode for the treatment of extraspinal bone metastases. Methods: All data were retrospectively reviewed. All the ablation procedures were performed using a steerable RFA device (STAR, Merit Medical Systems, Inc., South Jordan, UT, USA). The pain was assessed with a VAS score before treatment and at 1-week and 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up. The Functional Mobility Scale (FMS) was recorded preoperatively and 1 month after the treatment through a four-point scale (4, bedridden; 3, use of wheelchair; 2, limited painful ambulation; 1, normal ambulation). Technical success was defined as successful intraoperative ablation and cementoplasty without major complications. Results: A statistically significant reduction of the median VAS score before treatment and 1 week after RFA and cementoplasty was observed (p < 0.001). A total of 6/7 patients who used a wheelchair reported normal ambulation 1 month after treatment. All patients with limited painful ambulation reported normal ambulation after the RFA and cementoplasty (p = 0.003). Technical success was achieved in all the combined procedures. Two cement leakages were reported. No local recurrences were observed after 1 year. Conclusions: The combined treatment of RFA with a steerable device and cementoplasty is a safe, feasible, and promising clinical option for the management of painful bone metastases, challenging for morphology and location, resulting in an improvement of the quality of life of patients.

Minimally Invasive Interventional Procedures for Metastatic Bone Disease: A Comprehensive Review.

Metastases are the main type of malignancy involving bone, which is the third most frequent site of metastatic carcinoma, after lung and liver. Skeletal-related events such as intractable pain, spinal cord compression, and pathologic fractures pose a serious burden on patients' quality of life. For this reason, mini-invasive treatments for the management of bone metastases were developed with the goal of pain relief and functional status improvement. These techniques include embolization, thermal ablation, electrochemotherapy, cementoplasty, and MRI-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound. In order to achieve durable pain palliation and disease control, mini-invasive procedures are combined with chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery, or analgesics. The purpose of this review is to summarize the recently published literature regarding interventional radiology procedures in the treatment of cancer patients with bone metastases, focusing on the efficacy, complications, local disease control and recurrence rate.

Percutaneous osteoplasty in long bones: Current status and assessment of outcomes.

Osteoplasty is a minimally invasive imaging-guided intervention providing mechanical stabilization, bone consolidation and pain relief in oncologic patients presenting with non-osteoblastic bone metastases or with insufficiency fractures. The intervention relies on the injection of an acrylic substance (ie, polymethylmethacrylate; PMMA) into the target bone. PMMA is very resistant to axial compressive loads but much less to bending, torsional and shearing stresses. Accordingly, from a biomechanical standpoint osteoplasty is adapted for the palliative treatment of small painful lytic bone defects located in the epiphyseal region of long bones in patients with clear surgical contraindications; or for increasing the anchoring of the osteosynthesis material into the target bone. Although pain relief is rapid and effective following osteoplasty, secondary fractures have been reported in up to 8-9% of long bone tumors undergoing such intervention; and following such event, fixation with endomedullary osteosynthetic material (eg, nailing) is not practicable any more. Accordingly, careful patients' selection is critical and should happen with a multidisciplinary approach.

Avoiding complications in percutaneous osteoplasty.

Percutaneous osteoplasty techniques include cement injection either solely performed or in combination to hardware such as cannulated screws, peek implants or other metallic hardware including micro-needles and Kirschner wires. Depending on bone and local forces applied, fracture and osseous defect characteristics as well as symptoms and operator's preference percutaneous osteoplasty techniques include cementoplasty, fixation by internal cemented screw and augmented osteoplasty. Literature data support efficacy and safety of these techniques, focusing mainly on the minimal invasive nature of these approaches along with minimum overall morbidity and mortality and an impressive pain reduction effect. Percutaneous osteoplasty techniques in the peripheral skeleton are indicated for pain palliation or for prevention of impeding pathologic fractures. Although safe, osteoplasty techniques are not without risk of complications and adverse events. Complications are classified based either upon clinical impact or timing of occurrence; complications' reviewing and grading should be performed on terms of a uniform and accurate reproducible and validated categorization system. Significant factors for avoiding complications in percutaneous osteoplasty techniques include proper training, patient- and lesion-tailored approach, high-quality imaging guidance, sterility as well as appropriate selection of technique and materials. The present article reports the possible complications of percutaneous osteoplasty techniques and reviews the prerequisites necessary for avoiding and managing these adverse events.

Image guided procedures to stabilize the pelvic girdle in cancer patients.

With the advancement of oncologic treatments, advanced cancer patients with bone involvement survive longer. Cancer involving weight-bearing bones of pelvic girdle results in mechanical pain that interferes with ambulation, deteriorates quality of life, and causes serious complications that may accelerate their demise. Among common treatments for bone metastases, radiation therapy does not reinforce bone and surgical fixation is often complex with high risks of complications and may not be possible due to comorbidities in this patient population. Image guided percutaneous stabilization techniques have been proven as viable options in this setting.

Percutaneous Fixation of Impending Fracture of the Hip.

According to the literature, prophylactic consolidation of proximal femur lytic metastasis the is recommended when the Mirels' score is above 8. Osteoplasty (cementoplasty of proximal femur) alone provides inadequate consolidation. Various mini-invasive technics, augmented osteoplasties, have been proposed for better long-term consolidation. The aim of this review is to detail the augmented osteoplasty techniques described in the literature and to report their safeties and efficacies to prevent pathological fracture of the proximal femur. A PubMed research found 8 studies that evaluated augmented osteoplasty of the proximal femur in cancer patients. All devices demonstrate adequate safety and low rate of secondary pathological fractures.

Computed Tomography‒Guided Microwave Ablation Combined with Osteoplasty for the Treatment of Bone Metastases: A Multicenter Clinical Study.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of combined microwave ablation (MWA) and osteoplasty as a palliative therapy for painful bone metastases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: As an extension of a previous limited single-center study, a retrospective review was conducted for 147 patients (77 male, 70 female) with painful bone metastases who underwent MWA combined with osteoplasty. In total, 102 (69.4%), 41 (27.9%), and 4 (2.7%) patients had spinal metastases, extraspinal metastases, and both, respectively. Treatment efficacy was determined by comparing visual analog scale (VAS) scores, daily morphine equivalent opioid consumption, and Oswestry disability index (ODI) scores before treatment and during the follow-up period (mean follow-up, 9.8 months; range 3-16). RESULTS: The mean VAS score significantly declined from 6.4 ± 2.3 before treatment to 3.2 ± 2.1, 1.9 ± 1.6, 1.8 ± 1.6, 1.8 ± 1.6, and 1.9 ± 1.6 at 24 hours, 1 week, 4 weeks, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks after treatment, respectively (P < .01). Furthermore, the mean daily morphine equivalent opioid consumption was significantly reduced from 81.5 ± 32.8 mg before treatment to 40.0 ± 20.6, 32.4 ± 10.2, 26.4 ± 10.0, 21.5 ± 8.3, and 19.3 ± 7.4 mg. The mean ODI score also declined after treatment (P < .0001). Major complications occurred in 4 of 147 patients, with 1 pathologic fracture, 1 nerve injury, and 2 mild skin infections. Minor cement leakages were observed at 69 sites (32.8%). CONCLUSIONS: MWA combined with osteoplasty is an effective and safe treatment for painful bone metastases.

Minimally Invasive Image-Guided Ablation, Osteoplasty, Reinforcement, and Internal Fixation (AORIF) for Osteolytic Lesions in the Pelvis and Periarticular Regions of Weight-Bearing Bones.

PURPOSE: To assess early outcome, safety, and complications of an alternative to open surgical treatments of osteolytic lesions in periarticular load-bearing bones. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A single-center, prospective clinical cohort study of 26 lesions in 23 consecutive patients with painful osteolytic skeletal lesions was performed. Patients were followed for an average of 7 mo (1-18 mo). Lesions were targeted from the most intact bone via minimally invasive percutaneous approach for stable anchorage of internal fixation screws using fluoroscopic guidance. Cannulated screws served as universal portals for ablation, balloon osteoplasty, and delivery of bone cement in addition to internal fixation for cement anchoring and prophylactic stabilization of uninvolved bone. RESULTS: There were 19 osteolytic lesions in the pelvis, 4 in the proximal femur, 2 in the proximal tibia, and 1 in the calcaneus. All defects were associated with severe pain or fractures. There were no conversions to open surgery and no infection or bleeding requiring transfusion, embolization, or additional procedures. There was significant improvement in visual analogue scale (VAS) pain score from 8.32 ± 1.70 to 2.36 ± 2.23, combined pain and functional ambulation score from 4.48 ± 2.84 to 7.28 ± 2.76, and Musculoskeletal Tumor Society score from 45% to 68% (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Ablation, osteoplasty, reinforcement, and internal fixation is a safe and effective minimally invasive percutaneous image-guided treatment option for functional improvement or palliation of painful osteolytic lesions in the pelvis and periarticular loadbearing bones.

Late Manifestation of Pulmonary Cement Embolism Visualized by Coronary Angiography.

Following percutaneous vertebroplasty for vertebral compression fracture 6 years prior, late pulmonary cement embolism developed after leakage of the cement into the paravertebral venous plexus.

Combination of Microwave Ablation and Percutaneous Osteoplasty for Treatment of Painful Extraspinal Bone Metastasis.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of microwave (MW) ablation combined with percutaneous osteoplasty (POP) on painful extraspinal bone metastases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this retrospective study, 50 adult patients with 56 extraspinal bone metastasis lesions, who suffered from refractory moderate to severe pain, were treated with MW ablation and POP. Changes in quality of life were evaluated based on the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), daily morphine consumption, and the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) before and immediately after the procedure and during follow-up times. RESULTS: Technical success was achieved in all patients. Mean preoperative VAS score and morphine dose were 7.0 ± 2.6 (range, 3-10) and 66.7 ± 33.2 mg (range, 10-120 mg), respectively. Mean postoperative VAS scores and daily morphine doses were as follows: 1 day, 3.5 ± 2.1 and 36.1 ± 25.8 mg (P < .05); 1 week, 1.5 ± 1.7 and 12.2 ± 14.8 mg (P < .001); 1 month, 0.9 ± 1.4 and 5.7 ± 10.0 mg (P < .001); and 3 months, 0.6 ± 1.2 and 4.7 ± 8.4 mg (P < .001). A significant decrease in the ODI score was also observed (P < .05). Periprocedural death was not observed. A pathologic fracture occurred in 1 (2%) patient with femoral metastasis, and local infection was observed in 2 (4%) patients. Minor cement leakage occurred in 4 (8%) patients with no symptomatic or intra-articular extravasation. No local tumor progression occurred in patients with imaging follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: MW ablation combined with POP is an effective and safe treatment for painful extraspinal bone metastases, which can significantly relieve pain and improve quality of life.

Safety and Efficacy of Sacroplasty for Sacral Fractures: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of sacroplasty for the treatment of osteoporotic and malignant sacral fractures by performing a systematic review and meta-analysis of existing literature. MATERIALS AND METHODS: PubMed, Web of Science, and SCOPUS databases were searched from their inception until February 2018 for articles describing sacroplasty. Inclusion criteria were as follows: studies reporting > 5 patients, and pain assessment before and after the procedure recorded with visual analog scale (VAS). Demographic data, procedural details, technical success rates, VAS scores before and after the procedure, and procedural complications were recorded. A random-effects meta-analyses of the VAS pain score before the procedure, at 24-48 hours, at 6 months, and at 12 months were calculated. RESULTS: Nineteen studies (18 case series and 1 cohort study) were identified consisting of 861 total patients (682 women and 167 men; mean age 73.89 ± 9.73 years). Patients underwent sacroplasty for the following indications: sacral insufficiency fractures secondary to osteoporosis (n = 664), malignancy (n = 167), and nonspecified sacral insufficiency fractures (n = 30). Technical and clinical successes were achieved in 98.9% (852/861) and 95.7% (623/651) of patients undergoing sacroplasty, respectively. The pooled major complication rate was 0.3%, with 3 patients requiring surgical decompression for cement leakage. Random-effects meta-analyses demonstrated statistically significant differences in the VAS pain level at preprocedure, 24-48 hours, 6 months, and 12 months, with cumulative pain scores of 8.32 ± 0.01, 3.55 ± 0.01, 1.48 ± 0.01, and 0.923 ± 0.01, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Sacroplasty appears safe and effective for pain relief in patients with osteoporotic or malignant sacral fractures, with statistically significant sustained improvement in VAS pain scores up to 12 months.

Assessment of risk factors for occurrence or worsening of acetabular fracture following percutaneous cementoplasty of acetabulum malignancies.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical, radiological and periprocedural features associated with the occurrence or worsening of acetabular fracture (OWAF) following percutaneous cementoplasty of the acetabulum (PCA) in cancer patients. METHOD: All patients who underwent PCA in our comprehensive cancer center for an acetabular metastasis between January 2008 and December 2015 were included. Clinical features, characteristics of the metastasis on computed tomography (CT-scan) (location [roof, quadrilateral surface, anterior and posterior columns], number of locations, matrix, extra/intra-articular fractures, extra-osseous or subchondral extensions) and of the procedure (extra- or intra-articular cement leakage (IACL), percentage of filling of each location, complications) were reported as well as prior, concomitant or post-PCA treatments. The endpoint was OWAF on CT-scan during post-PCA follow-up. Log-rank tests and Cox models were used to identify prognostic factors. RESULTS: 140 PCA were identified in 129 patients (11 bilateral procedures, median age: 66.6). Eighteen (18/140, 12.9%) had an initial articular fracture. IACL was seen in 12/140 (8.6%) PCA. The only feature associated with IACL was a pre-existing articular fracture (p = 0.009). Of the 111 patients with imaging follow-ups, 18 (16.2%) showed OWAF. In multivariate analysis, the presence of cement filling (even partial) of all acetabular metastatic locations was the only feature predictive of OWAF-free survival (hazard ratio = 3.8, p = 0.031). CONCLUSIONS: Injecting cement in all areas affected by acetabular metastases could prevent OWAF. Because survival following PCA is not negligible, completing an insufficient first PCA could help preserve patients' quality of life.

Safety and Efficacy of Percutaneous Lumbar Discectomy and Percutaneous Disc Cementoplasty for Painful Lumbar Disc Herniation in Patients over 60 Years.

PURPOSE: To determine the safety and efficacy of percutaneous lumbar discectomy (PLD) and percutaneous disc cementoplasty (PDCP) for painful lumbar disc herniation (LDH) in patients >60 years of age. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixteen older patients (mean age, 71.00 ± 6.24 years) with painful LDH were treated with PLD and PDCP. The outcome data (the Macnab criteria, visual analog scale score, and Oswestry disability index) were collected preoperatively; at 1 week postoperatively; at posttreatment months 1, 3, and 6; and every 6 months thereafter. In addition, treatment duration, injection volume of bone cement, length of hospital stay, and complications were assessed. RESULTS: Treatment was successful in all patients. The pain relief rate at the last follow-up was 87.5%. Six, 8, and 2 patients showed excellent, good, and fair results, respectively; no patient showed a poor result. The average visual analog scale for back and leg pain decreased from 6.75 ± 1.06 and 7.00 ± 0.89 before the procedure to 2.81 ± 1.60 and 2.87 ± 1.75 at 1 month, 2.79 ± 1.58 and 2.71 ± 1.64 at 6 months, and 2.90 ± 1.73 and 3.00 ± 1.76 at 1 year, respectively. The scores were 2.44 ± 1.63 and 2.44 ± 1.71, respectively, at the last follow-up. The Oswestry disability index also changed after the procedure, with significant differences between baseline scores and those at each follow-up (P < .001). The mean procedure duration, injection volume of bone cement, and length of hospital stay were 55.69 ± 5.86 minutes, 2.50 ± 0.63 mL, and 7.06 ± 2.41 days, respectively. There were no complications. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of PLD and PDCP is feasible, safe, and effective for older patients with painful LDH.

CT fluoroscopy-guided percutaneous osteoplasty with or without radiofrequency ablation in the treatment of painful extraspinal and spinal bone metastases: technical outcome and complications in 29 patients.

PURPOSE: We aimed to assess the safety and technical outcome of computed tomography (CT) fluoroscopy-guided osteoplasty with or without prior percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in patients with painful osteolyses. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of 29 patients with painful extraspinal and spinal osteolyses (16 women, 13 men; 63.1±14.4 years) who underwent CT fluoroscopy-guided osteoplasty (10-20 mAs tube current) with or without RFA (26 and 14 lesions, respectively), in 33 consecutive procedures from 2002 to 2016. Technical success was defined as at least one complete RFA cycle and subsequent polymethyl metacrylate (PMMA) bone cement injection covering ≥75% of longest diameter of extraspinal osteolysis on axial plane or of distance between vertebral endplates. Procedure-related complications within 30 days and dose-length-product (DLP) were also evaluated. RESULTS: Osteolyses were located in the pelvis (acetabulum, n=10; iliac bone, n=4), spine (thoracic, n=6; lumbar, n=5; sacral, n=8), long bones (femur, n=3; tibia, n=1), sternum (n=2) and glenoid (n=1). Mean size of the treated osteolysis was 4.0±1.2 cm (range, 1.9-6.9 cm). Of 40 osteolyses, 31 (77.5%) abutted neighboring risk structures (spinal canal or neuroforamen, n=18; neighboring joint, n=11; other, n=8). Mean number of RFA electrode positions and complete ablation cycles was 1.5±0.9 and 2.1±1.7, respectively. Mean PMMA filling volume was 7.7±5.7 mL (range, 2-30 mL). Small asymptomatic PMMA leakages were observed in 15 lesions (37.5%). Mean total DLP was 850±653 mGy*cm. Six minor complications were observed, without any major complications. CONCLUSION: CT fluoroscopy-guided percutaneous osteoplasty with or without concomitant RFA for the treatment of painful extraspinal and spinal osteolyses can be performed with a low complication rate and high technical success.

Pulmonary cement embolism is not associated with the cause of death in a post-mortem cohort of cement-augmented interventions in the spine.

PURPOSE: Complications of cement-augmented interventions (e.g., kyphoplasty) in the spine include local cement leakage and pulmonary cement embolisms (PCE). This study was conducted to determine their extent in a unique post-mortem cohort. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of post-mortem whole-body CT scans and review of autopsy results in 29 consecutive cases with cement-augmented interventions in the spine. PCE findings were graded based on cement deposits: grade 0 (no PCE), grade 1 (1-3 PCE), grade 2 (4-6 PCE), and grade 3 (> 6 or branch-shaped PCE). Bone and lung tissue specimens were obtained in representative cases to confirm the findings histologically. RESULTS: Local cement leakage was detected in 69%: intravenous (34%), intervertebral (31%), intraspinal (14%), and retrograde (17%). Lung sections showed PCE in 52%: grade 0 (48%), grade 1 (31%), grade 2 (10%), and grade 3 (10%). Matching with autopsy findings revealed that none of the cases died due to the impact of PCE. CONCLUSIONS: The presented data reveal a high frequency of PCE making it a notable finding-especially since not only single but also branch-like embolisms were detected. Thus, it is of great importance that none of the causes of death were related to the impact of PCE. Nevertheless, it is crucial to consider the underlying diseases for increased PCE risk and to apply latest surgical techniques and preventive measures. These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary material.

Extraspinal Percutaneous Osteoplasty for the Treatment of Painful Bony Metastasis.

BACKGROUND: Extraspinal percutaneous osteoplasties (POPs) are novel techniques for the treatment of painful bony metastasis, which is often the cause of both persistent and incidental breakthrough pain. This retrospective study explored the efficacy and complications of extraspinal POPs. METHODS: The origin of the cancer metastasis, performed POP sites, necessity of adjacent joint injections, pain and Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS) scores, complications related to the POPs, and life expectancy were evaluated from the medical records from 2009 to 2016. RESULTS: A total of 47 (M/F = 28/19) patients had received 54 POPs, including costoplasty, scapuloplasty, ilioplasty, humeroplasty, ischioplasty, femoroplasty, sternoplasty, and puboplasty, in order of frequency. The most common sites for the origin of the cancer, in order of frequency, were the lung, liver, breast, colon, and kidney. All patients receiving POPs including scapuloplasty, ilioplasty, humeroplasty, and femoroplasty needed adjacent joint injections before or after the POPs. Pain due to metastatic lesions was reduced significantly immediately after the POPs and the reduction was sustained until the end of their lives. The median KPS was increased from 35.4% to 67.7% immediately after the POPs. There were no complications related to the procedures. The mean life expectancy after performing the POPs, for 35 patients which died afterwards, was 99.3 days, ranging from 1 to 767 days. CONCLUSION: Even though pain in the isolated POP sites may be difficult to measure due to overlapping systemic pain, the POPs provided immediate local pain relief, and the patients showed better physical performance without procedure-related complications.

Severe Pulmonary Embolism was Secondary to Cement Inferior Vena Cava Embolism after Percutaneous Vertebroplasty.

Cement pulmonary embolism (cPE) and inferior vena cava embolism (cIE) are rare but potentially life-threatening complications of percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP). Most cPE and cIE occurred simultaneously. In this case, a 65-year-old woman complained of dyspnea after PVP for 4 days. Patient's symptom and image tests manifest that the cPE was secondary to cIE. Although cIE was found at the first day after PVP, the local surgeons treat the patient with a regular anticoagulant without another more effective therapeutic measure. Eventually, the long cement inferior vena cava embolus was broken and result in left pulmonary embolism via the systemic circulation. She was admitted to our hospital and performed with embolectomy surgery by cardiopulmonary bypass and discharged after 7 days. We report this case to show that cIE embolism is still underestimated by some spine surgeons in China, and cIE may be developed to severe cPE during conservation management with anticoagulation.

Tuberculous spondylitis after vertebral augmentation: A case report with a literature review.

Tuberculous spondylitis of vertebral augmentation following percutaneous vertebroplasty or kyphoplasty is rare. We report an unusual case of tuberculous spondylitis diagnosed after percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP). A 54-year-old woman presented to hospital complaining of back pain following a fall 20 days prior. Radiology showed an acute osteoporotic compression (L3 fracture). The patient denied a history of pulmonary tuberculosis and there were no signs of infection. The patient was discharged from hospital 2 days after undergoing L3 PKP with a dramatic improvement in her back pain. The patient was readmitted 10 months later with a history of recurrent back pain and low-grade fever for 3 months. Imaging examinations showed severe spondylitis at the L2-L3 level, with paravertebral abscess formation and bony destruction of L2 and L3. A positive result of the T-SPOT test preliminarily confirmed the diagnosis of tuberculous spondylitis. The tuberculosis test was positive, and serum C-reactive protein levels and erythrocyte sedimentation were relatively high. Treatment for tuberculous spondylitis was started. She underwent posterior fusion and instrumentation from T12-L5 after markers for infection returned to normal. After surgery, the patient continued antituberculous and anti-osteoporosis treatments. Her low back pain was relieved and low-grade fever and sweating disappeared.