Preliminary Results of Balloon Kyphoplasty for Vertebral
Object: Organ transplant recipients are at risk for vertebral compression fractures (VCFs). The goal of this study was to determine whether kyphoplasty is an effective treatment for VCFs that develop in this patient population.
Methods: Six consecutive patients who had undergone an organ transplant (five liver and one kidney transplant) had a total of 13 symptomatic VCFs that were treated with balloon kyphoplasty. Postprocedure follow-up duration ranged from 6 to 12 months. The mean visual analog scale pain score was 9.3 before treatment and declined to 1.8 after treatment. This improvement was highly significant (p 0.001). Intake of narcotic drugs decreased or was eliminated in all patients, and there were no complications related to the procedure. There was one instance of clinically insignificant extraosseous cement extravasation. Sagittal alignment was improved by 5Ëš in one patient and was unchanged in the remaining five. During the follow-up period, a new fracture developed adjacent to a treated level in one patient. This was successfully treated with an additional kyphoplasty procedure.
Conclusions: Kyphoplasty can be performed safely in organ transplant recipients with VCF, in whom results are just as favorable as those seen in patients with no history of organ transplantation.
Osteoporotic VCF is a common disorder that affects 700,000 patients per year in the US alone. These fractures are associated with considerable morbidity and pain. Cases of VCF are known to occur in postmenopausal women and in elderly persons of both sexes. Other risk factors include cigarette smoking, excessive alcohol intake, sedentary lifestyle, spinal radiation therapy, and exposure to certain medications, such as phenytoin. Organ transplant recipients are also at risk for osteoporotic VCF because of their underlying disease process and because they require long-term treatment with steroid medications and other immunosuppressive drugs.
Over the last 5 years, balloon kyphoplasty has emerged as an effective treatment for VCF. Previous reports have dealt with this procedure in the context of osteoporosis associated with postmenopausal women and individuals of advanced age. To our knowledge, this operation has not been applied to VCFs in the transplant population. The purpose of this study is to report on the results of kyphoplasty treatment in six solid-organ transplant recipients.
Object: Organ transplant recipients are at risk for vertebral compression fractures (VCFs). The goal of this study was to determine whether kyphoplasty is an effective treatment for VCFs that develop in this patient population.
Methods: Six consecutive patients who had undergone an organ transplant (five liver and one kidney transplant) had a total of 13 symptomatic VCFs that were treated with balloon kyphoplasty. Postprocedure follow-up duration ranged from 6 to 12 months. The mean visual analog scale pain score was 9.3 before treatment and declined to 1.8 after treatment. This improvement was highly significant (p 0.001). Intake of narcotic drugs decreased or was eliminated in all patients, and there were no complications related to the procedure. There was one instance of clinically insignificant extraosseous cement extravasation. Sagittal alignment was improved by 5Ëš in one patient and was unchanged in the remaining five. During the follow-up period, a new fracture developed adjacent to a treated level in one patient. This was successfully treated with an additional kyphoplasty procedure.
Conclusions: Kyphoplasty can be performed safely in organ transplant recipients with VCF, in whom results are just as favorable as those seen in patients with no history of organ transplantation.
Osteoporotic VCF is a common disorder that affects 700,000 patients per year in the US alone. These fractures are associated with considerable morbidity and pain. Cases of VCF are known to occur in postmenopausal women and in elderly persons of both sexes. Other risk factors include cigarette smoking, excessive alcohol intake, sedentary lifestyle, spinal radiation therapy, and exposure to certain medications, such as phenytoin. Organ transplant recipients are also at risk for osteoporotic VCF because of their underlying disease process and because they require long-term treatment with steroid medications and other immunosuppressive drugs.
Over the last 5 years, balloon kyphoplasty has emerged as an effective treatment for VCF. Previous reports have dealt with this procedure in the context of osteoporosis associated with postmenopausal women and individuals of advanced age. To our knowledge, this operation has not been applied to VCFs in the transplant population. The purpose of this study is to report on the results of kyphoplasty treatment in six solid-organ transplant recipients.
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