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A look at novel and indirect techniques of bone cement augmentation in the spine
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An indirect technique of bone cement augmentation via the disc space for percutaneous screw fixation in elderly patients with severe osteoporosis may be a safe and easy method, according to the results of a recently published study of two patients.
Researchers reported the outcomes of a cost-effective technique for bone cement augmentation, which uses a bone biopsy needle inserted into the disc space, in two patients with osteoporosis. The study included a 70-year-old woman with back pain and neurogenic intermittent claudication and a 68-year-old woman who presented with severe back pain and radiating pain in both legs with neurogenic intermittent claudication. Both patients were treated with posterior interbody fusion and percutaneous pedicle screw fixation.
Surgeons used fluoroscopic radiography for guidance to insert the bone biopsy needle into the disc space via the operative field. Bone cement was injected through the needle, also under fluoroscopic radiography. Both patients’ symptoms improved after the operation and there was no evidence of cage subsidence or screw loosening at 4-month follow-up.
“The indirect technique of bone cement augmentation via the disc space for percutaneous screw fixation could be an easy, safe and economical method,” the researchers wrote in their study. – by Robert Linnehan
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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