Safety and Efficacy of Multilevel Thoracolumbar Vertebroplasty in the Simultaneous Treatment of Six or More Pathologic Compression Fractures

Purpose: To assess the safety and efficacy of multilevel thoracolumbar vertebroplasty in the simultaneous treatment of ≥ 6 painful pathologic compression fractures. Materials and Methods: Retrospective review was conducted of 50 consecutive patients treated with vertebroplasty for ≥ 6 pathologic compression fractures in a single session for pain palliation at a tertiary single cancer center from 2015 to 2019. Outcomes measured included procedural safety according to Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE), change in 4-week postprocedure back pain by numeric rating scale (NRS), comparison of daily opioid medication consumption, and development of skeletal-related events. Results: A total of 397 pathologic compression fractures were treated during 50 sessions (mean, 7.9 per patient ± 1.5). Mean procedure duration was 162 minutes ± 35, mean postoperative hospitalization duration was 1.6 days ± 0.9, and mean follow-up duration was 401 days ± 297. Seven complications were recorded, including 1 case of symptomatic polymethyl methacrylate pulmonary embolism. No major complications (CTCAE grade 4/5) were reported. NRS pain score was significantly decreased (5.0 ± 1.8 vs 1.7 ± 1.4; P < .0001), with a mean score decrease of 3.3 points (66%). Opioid agent use decreased significantly (76 mg/24 h ± 42 vs 45 mg/24 h ± 37; P = .0003), with a mean decrease of 30 mg/24 h (39%). Skeletal-related events occurred in 7 patients (14%). Conclusions: Multilevel vertebroplasty for ≥ 6 pathologic compression fractures is safe and provides significant palliative benefit when performed simultaneously.