Cementoplasty for managing painful bone metastases outside the spine

To illustrate the effect of treatment with cementoplasty in patients with painful bone metastases in the extraspinal region.

A retrospective study was conducted to review 51 consecutive patients who underwent cementoplasty under CT or fluoroscopic guidance, a total of 65 lesions involving the ilium, ischium, pubis, acetabulum, humeral, femur and tibia. In 5 patients with a high risk of impending fracture in long bones based on Mirels' scoring system, an innovative technique using a cement-filled catheter was applied. The clinical effects were evaluated using the visual analogue scale (VAS) preoperatively and postoperatively.

All patients were treated successfully with a satisfying resolution of painful symptoms at 3 months' follow-up. Cement leakage was found in 8 lesions without any symptoms. VAS scores decreased from 8.19 ± 1.1 preoperatively to 4.94 ± 1.6 at 3 days, 3.41 ± 2.1 at 1 month and 3.02 ± 1.9 at 3 months postoperatively. There was a significant difference between the mean preoperative baseline score and the mean score at all of the postoperative follow-up points (P < 0.01).

Cementoplasty is an effective technique for treating painful bone metastases in extraspinal regions, which is a valuable, minimally invasive, method that allows reduction of pain and improvement of patients' quality of life.

• Metastases in long bones may cause pain and subsequent pathological fractures. • Cement-filled catheter resulted in a fixation effect to prevent pathological fractures. • Cementoplasty resulted in significant pain relief in patients with extraspinal metastases.