Vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty: complementary tecniques for the treatment of painful osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures

objective: in a prospective study, we aimed to evaluate the potential use of kyphoplasty (kp) and vertebroplasty (vp) as complementary techniques in the treatment of painful osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (vcfs). methods: after one month of conservative treatment for vcfs, patients with intractable pain were offered treatment with kp or vp according to a treatment algorithm that considers time from fracture (？t) and amount of vertebral body collapse (vbc). bone biopsy was obtained intraoperatively to exclude patients affected by malignancy or osteomalacia. results: hundred and sixty-four patients were included according to the above criteria. mean age was 67.6 years. mean followup was 33 months. ten patients (6.1%) were lost to follow-up and 154 reached the minimum two years follow-up. 118 (69.5%) underwent vp and 36 (30.5%) underwent kp. complications affected five patients treated with vp, whose one suffered a transient intercostal neuropathy and four a subsequent vcf (two at adjacent level). results in terms of vas and oswestry scores were not different among treatment groups. conclusion: in conclusion, at an average follow-up of almost 3 years from surgical treatment of osteoporotic vcfs, vp and kp show similar good clinical outcomes and appear to be complementary techniques with specific different indications.