Osteoporotic vertebral collapse: percutaneous vertebroplasty and local kyphosis correction

Forty-six cases of osteoporotic vertebral collapse (27 thoracic, 19 lumbar) were treated by means of percutaneous vertebroplasty in a hyperlordosis position. Institutional review board approval and informed consent were obtained. Kyphosis reducibility was preprocedurally estimated from the angular difference between neutral and hyperlordosis positions. Effective reduction was the angular difference in neutral positions before and after vertebroplasty. Reduction (< or =14 degrees ; mean, 6.43 degrees) was obtained in cases with estimated reducibility greater than 5 degrees (31 cases, 67%), which is a 34% (6.5 degrees of 19.1 degrees ) mean reduction. A significantly greater level of kyphosis reduction was observed in cases with intravertebral clefts (20 cases, 43%) at hyperlordosis than in those without (7.2 degrees vs 4.9 degrees ; P < .01). Vertebroplasty may reduce kyphosis due to localized collapsed vertebrae; intravertebral mobility and cleft suggest this possibility.