Radiofrequency
kyphoplasty demonstrated a significant pain relief and improvement in low back
function in patient with vertebral compression fractures.
With an advantage of short operation time and controlled cement viscosity, radiofrequency (RF) kyphoplasty emerges as an effective and safe approach for vertebral compression fractures (VCFs) treatment. A retrospective study published in the Asian Spine Journal manifests these findings. Balloon kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty are also the available methods to treat osteoporotic VCFs, but the RF kyphoplasty comes with the feature of controlled cement viscosity.
The analysis involved a total of 41 consecutive participants; 38 with lumbar and 23 with thoracic VCFs who went through RF kyphoplasty. The age of the patients was ranged from 51 to 89 years. Radiographic and clinical assessments were done using X-ray, and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) & Visual Analog Scale (VAS) respectively during follow-up, at six weeks, six months, and twelve months.
The mean VAS scores were reduced
to 3.3 postoperatively from 8.7 preoperatively. At the follow-up end, it was
further reduced to 1.22. The mean ODI scores were reduced to 9.6
postoperatively from 85.9 preoperatively and improved to 18.4 at 1-year
follow-up. A significant reduction was also observed in the mean local kyphotic
angle from 9.04° preoperatively to 6.16° postoperatively and at the end of
follow-up. However, a significant increase of 3.3 mm was determined in mean
vertebral body height after the treatment. Five out of sixty-one levels of
fractures exhibited 8% rate of cement leakage. All these findings make RF
kyphoplasty a safe and effective treatment for VCFs.
Asian Spine Journal
The Outcome of Radiofrequency Kyphoplasty in the Treatment of Vertebral Compression Fractures in Osteoporotic Patients.
Ramy Hegazy et al.
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