Innovative Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures for Bone Tumors

updated 12/30/06

Percutaneous osteoplasty and vetebroplasty

These related techniques involve the injection of semi-liquid bone cement into a bone lesion under constant and precise visual monitoring by CT or fluoroscopy. The technique has been used extensively in the spine to treat the pain of compression fractures.

Minimally invasive techniques might seem to carry minimal risks of problems but this is not always the case. There have been serious complications following percutaneous vertebroplasty. These result from inadequate monitoring of the flow of the injected cement and overzealous application of the technique to multiple sites in the same patient during the same treatment session.

The authors of this site have specialized training in this technique. Our experience in using the technique for painful metastatic lesions where other treatments or techniques are not available or not practical shows great promise. The main goal is pain relief and the technique appears to be effective in this area.

In one case treated by the authors, a patient had severe pain and inability to walk caused by cancerous lesions located deep in the pelvis. She was not able to undergo normal surgery due to her medical condition, but percutaneous osteoplasty was possible. She had significant relief of pain and was able to resume walking after the procedure. Patients are reminded that this technique is only applied to carefully selected cases and the results are stil being evaluated.

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