EFFECTIVENESS OF UNIPEDICULAR KYPHOPLASTY IN OSTEOPOROTIC THORACOLUMBAR VERTEBRAL COMPRESSION FRACTURES IN ELDERLY PATIENTS: A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY

Özet

Objective: Discussions regarding the effectiveness of unipedicular kyphoplasty in osteoporotic thoracolumbar vertebral fractures are found in the literature. To evaluate the clinical and radiologic efficacy of percutaneous unipedicular kyphoplasty in thoracolumbar osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs) in elderly patients. Materials and Methods: Our study was conducted as a retrospective analysis. We enrolled patients who underwent percutaneous unipedicular kyphoplasty due to thoracolumbar OVCFs between January 2015 and December 2018. All patients were evaluated through two-planed radiographs and computed tomography scans. The local kyphosis angle (LKA) and vertebral corpus height (VCH) of the fractured vertebrae were measured. The Visual Analogue scale (VAS) and Oswestry Disability index (ODI) were used to determine the functional outcomes of patients. Results: We included 77 patients (28 men, 49 women) with a mean of age 76.64±5.5 years (range, 69-86 years). In this study, all patients showed better improvement in ODI scores and LKA, increased VCH and decreased VAS scores 24 months postoperatively compared with preoperative values (p<0.05 for all). As a local complication, cement leakage from the kyphoplasty cannula tract to the posterior of the corpus was found in six patients, and cement leakage to the anterior was found in four patients. Conclusion: Percutaneous unipedicular kyphoplasty is a reliable method with satisfactory clinical and radiologic results in thoracolumbar OVCFs in elderly patients.