Percutaneous Kyphoplasty in the Treatment of Osteoblastic-related Spinal Metastases

Study Design: A retrospective study. Objective: To evaluate the feasibility, efficacy, and safety of percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) for the treatment of painful osteoblastic-related spinal metastases unresponsive to conservative treatments. Summary of Background Data: PKP represents a powerful tool in the management of oncology patients who suffer from painful osteolytic spinal lesions. However, to our knowledge, there have been no reports on the role of PKP in the treatment of osteoblastic metastatic spinal lesions. In this study, we evaluate the potential efficacy of kyphoplasty for the treatment of painful osteoblastic spinal metastases unresponsive to conservative treatments. Methods: A retrospective study was performed on 13 patients managed with PKP for painful osteoblastic-related spinal metastases. Visual analog scale pain score and Oswestry disability index questionnaire were used to assess back pain and functional status, respectively. Results: The average visual analog scale pain score before the treatment was 8.5 +/- 0.5 compared with 2.0 +/- 0.8 at 3 days after the procedure (P< 0.001), and remained largely unchanged from 1.6 +/- 0.5 at 1 month, 1.5 +/- 0.5 at 3 months to 2.2 +/- 0.7 at the last follow-up. The Oswestry disability index scores decreased from 77.2 +/- 8.2 before the surgery to 34.6 +/- 7.4 at 3 days after the operation (P< 0.001), 32.2 +/- 6.1 at 1 month, 30.2 +/- 5.9 at 3 months, and 34.5 +/- 6.7 at the last follow-up. No symptomatic cement leakage and PKP-related complications were found after operation. Conclusions: PKP is an effective, safe, and minimally invasive procedure to treat painful osteoblastic spinal metastases, leading to a significant reduction of pain and improvement of functional status.