• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.163-167
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• 2001

Objective : Percutaneous vertebroplasty has recently been introduced as an interesting therapeutic alternative for the treatment of thoracolumbar vertebral body fractures in elderly persons with osteoporosis. The authors present the early results of this method. Method and Material : From July 1999 to April 2000, percutaneous transpedicular technique was used in 20 patients (2 men and 18 women) whose mean age was 67.5 years old(range 59-79) with painful vertebral compression(22) and burst(2) fractures. The interval between fracture and vertebroplasty ranged 1 day to 4 months. The procedure involved percutaneous puncture of the injured vertebra via transpedicular approach under fluoroscopic guidance, followed by injection of polymethylmetacrylate(PMMA) into the vertebral body through a disposable 11-guage Jamshidi needle. Result : The most common cause of fracture was slip down and the most frequent injured level was the twelfth thoracic spine. The procedure was technically successful bilaterally in 18 patients(9 thoracic and 15 lumbar spines) with an average injection amount of 7.7ml PMMA in each level. Seventeen(94.4%) patients reported significant pain relief immediately after treatment. Two leaks of PMMA were detected with postoperative CT in spinal epidural space and extravertebral soft tissue without clinical symptoms. Conclusion : Although this study represents the early results, percutaneous vertebroplasty seems to be valuable tool in the treatment of painful osteoporotic vertebral body fractures in elderly, providing acute pain relief and early mobilization.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.59 no.2
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• pp.137-142
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• 2016

Objective : To evaluate whether an early bone marrow edema pattern predicts vertebral deformity types and prognosis in osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF). Methods : This retrospective study enrolled 64 patients with 75 acute OVCFs who underwent early MRI and followed up MRI. On early MRI, the low SI pattern of OVCF on T1WI were assessed and classified into 3 types (diffuse, globular or patchy, band-like). On followed up MRI, the vertebral deformity types (anterior wedge, biconcave, crush), degree of vertebral body height loss, incidence of vertebral osteonecrosis and spinal stenosis were assessed for each vertebral fracture types. Results : According to the early bone marrow edema pattern on T1WI, 26 vertebrae were type 1, 14 vertebrae were type 2 and 35 vertebrae were type 3. On followed up MRI, the crush-type vertebral deformity was most frequent among the type 1 OVCFs, the biconcave-type vertebral deformity was most frequent among the type 2 OVCFs and the anterior wedge-type vertebral deformity was most frequent among the type 3 OVCFs (p<0.001). In addition, type 1 early bone marrow edema pattern of OVCF on T1WI were associated with higher incidence of severe degree vertebral body height loss, vertebral osteonecrosis and spinal stenosis on the follow up MRI. Conclusion : Early bone marrow edema pattern of OVCF on T1WI, significant correlated with vertebral deformity types on the follow up MRI. The severe degree of vertebral height loss, vertebral osteonecrosis, and spinal stenosis were more frequent in patients with diffuse low SI pattern.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.259-264
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• 2005

Objective : The vertebroplasty is an excellent procedure in spine compression fracture, but there are some problems such as cement leakage and difficulties in bone biopsy. Recently, the osteoplasty system is developed to solve these problems, so we will report the usefulness of the osteoplasty system. Methods : From January 2003 to November 2003, there are 9patients with simple osteoporotic spine compression fracture, 2 compression fracture patients combined with suspicious spinal metastasis, 1patient with suspicious primary bone tumor, and 2patient with infection on spine. All patients were treated using the osteoplasty system. Results : All 11 compression fracture patients were relived the back pain after the osteoplasty and there is no complication. The bone biopsies in 3 suspicious cancer patients were also effectively performed using the osteoplasty system; negative result in 2patients and positive result in 1patient. The culture result of spontaneous discitis was no growth for 48hours. The spine tuberculosis was confirm using the osteoplasty system. Conclusion : The osteoplasty system has distinguished advantages in comparison with the vertebroplasty. That is, the risk of cement leakage is lower than vertebroplasty because of low pressure delivery system. And we can obtain the specimen effectively in bone biopsy because of large cannula. In conclusion, we emphasize that the osteoplasty system is a more useful procedure in spine compression fracture especially in the patient needed bone biopsy for diagnosis.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.142-145
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• 2005

Background: Vertebroplasty that is performed in the upper and middle thoracic spine presents technical challenges that are different from those in the lower thoracic or lumbar region due to the small pedicle size and angular severity for thoracic kyphosis. We report the results of percutaneous vertebroplasty and review its effectiveness in treating intractable osteoporotic compression fractures in the upper and middle thoracic spine. Methods: Patients who underwent vertebroplasty due to painful osteoporotic compression fractures at T3 T8 were retrospectively analyzed. The compression rate, volume of injected cement, clinical outcome (VAS score) and complications were analyzed. Results: Forty-three vertebral bodies from 41 patients (32 females and 9 males, age from 64 to 78 years old) underwent vertebroplasty. The mean compression rate improved from 35% to 17%. Bipedicular injections of bone cement were performed at 3 levels of 2 patients, and unipedicular injections were performed in 40 levels of 39 patients. The mean VAS score prior to surgery was 7.7, which improved to 2.4 within 48 hours after surgery, and the mean VAS score after 6 months was 1.5, which was significantly lower. All patients recovered uneventfully, and the neurological examination revealed no deficits. Cement leakage to the adjacent disc (9 levels) and paravertebral soft tissues (10 levels) developed. However, there were no significant complications related to the procedure such as a pneumothorax or pulmonary embolism. Conclusions: Transpedicular vertebroplasty is a safe and effective treatment for the upper and middle thoracic regions, and has a low complication rate.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.16-23
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• 2009

Objective : This retrospective study of 215 patients with 383 symptomatic osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (VCFs) treated by percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP), was performed to evaluate the clinical outcomes, and to analyze the various clinical factors affecting these results. Methods : The authors assessed the clinical outcome under the criteria such as the pain improvement, activity, requirement of analgesics, and the patient's satisfaction, and determined the relation to various peri- and intra-operative factors, and postoperative imaging findings. Results : The outcome was determined as 84.2% in relief of pain, 72.0% in change in activity, 65.7% in analgesics use, and 84.7% of satisfaction rate. More severe focal back pain, high uptake bone scan, and the lower mean T-score were related to the better pain relief following PVP. The longer the duration between fracture and PVP, the less severe focal back pain, low uptake bone scan, and leakage of PMMA into the paravertebral space were related to the less improvement in activity. Female and low uptake bone scan showed a correlation with more analgesic use. The longer the duration between fracture and PVP, low uptake bone scan, and the higher the mean T-score were correlated with the less the patients satisfaction. Conclusion : Our study suggests that PVP may be more effective in the acute phase of VCFs, more severe focal pain, and far advanced osteoporosis on BMD. Leakage of PMMA into the paravertebral spcae also could be affecting the surgical results.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.256-259
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• 2006

Objective : Having a reliable and reproducible measurement technique to measure the sagittal contour in vertebral fractures is paramount to clinical decision making. This study is designed to determine the most reliable measurement technique in osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture. Methods : Fifteen lateral radiographs of thoracic and lumbar fractures were selected and measured on two separate occasions by three spine surgeons using six different measurement techniques [Centroid, Harrison Posterior Tangent Methods and 4 different types of modified Cobb method]. The radiograph quality was assessed and the center beam location was determined. Statistical analysis including ANOVA for repeated measures was carried out using the SAS software [v 8.0]. Results : The inter and intraobserver variance of the Cobb method 4 and Harrison posterior tangent method were significantly lower than the other four methods. The intraobserver correlation coefficients were the most consistent using the Cobb method 4 [0.982]. which was followed by the Harrison posterior tangent [0.953] and Cobb methods 1 [0.874]. The intraobserver agreement [% of repeated measures within 5 degrees of the original measurement] ranged from 42% to 98% for each technique for all three observers, with the Cobb method 4 showing the best agreement [97.8%] followed by the Harrison posterior tangent method [937%]. Conclusion : The Cobb method-4 and Harrison posterior tangent methods, when applied to measuring the kyphosis, are reliable and have a similar small error range. The Cobb method 4 shows the best overall reliability. However, the centroid method and Cobb method using a fractured endplate do not produce an accurate result due to inter and intraobserver differences in determining the baseline.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.211-217
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• 2014

Objective : In Korea, early vertebroplasty (EVP) or delayed vertebroplasty (DVP, which is performed at least 2 weeks after diagnosis) were performed for the treatment of acute osteoporotic compression fracture (OCF) of the spine. The present study compared the outcomes of two surgical strategies for the treatment of single-level acute OCF in the thoracolumbar junction (T12-L2). Methods : From 2004 to 2010, 23 patients were allocated to the EVP group (EVPG) and 27 patients to the DVP group (DVPG). Overall mean age was $68.3{\pm}7.9$ and minimum follow-up period was 1.0 year. Retrospective study of clinical and radiological results was conducted. Results : No significant differences in baseline characteristics were observed between the two groups. As expected, mean duration from onset to vertebroplasty and mean duration of hospital stay were significantly longer in the DVPG ($17.1{\pm}2.1$ and $17.5{\pm}4.2$) than in the EVPG ($3.8{\pm}3.3$ and $10.8{\pm}5.1$, p=0.001). Final clinical outcome including visual analogue scale (VAS), Oswestry Disability Index, and Odom's criteria did not differ between the two groups. However, immediate improvement of the VAS after vertebroplasty was greater in the EVPG ($5.1{\pm}1.3$) than in the DVPG ($4.0{\pm}1.0$, p=0.002). The proportion of cement leakage was lower in the EVPG (30.4%) than in the DVPG (59.3%, p=0.039). In addition, semiquantitative grade of cement interdigitation was significantly more favorable in the EVPG than in the DVPG (p=0.003). Final vertebral body collapse and segmental kyphosis did not differ significantly between the two groups. Conclusion : Our findings suggest that EVP achieves a better immediate surgical effect with more favorable cost-effectiveness.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.65 no.5
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• pp.730-740
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• 2022

Objective : Although several commercialized bone cements are used during percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) for patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF), there are no reports using domestic products from South Korea. In this study, we investigated the safety and efficacy of Spinofill^® (Injecta Inc., Gunpo, Korea), a new polymethyl methacrylate product. Methods : A prospective, single-center, and single-arm clinical trial of 30 participants who underwent PVP using Spinofill^® for painful thoracolumbar OVCF was performed with 6-months follow-up. Clinical and surgical outcomes included the Visual analog scale (VAS), Korean-Oswestry disability index (K-ODI), and Odom's criteria, complication rate, and recurrence rate. Radiological outcomes were evaluated by measuring the findings of postoperative computed tomography and simple radiograph. Results : The pain of VAS (from 8.95±1.05 to 4.65±2.06, p<0.001) and the life quality based on K-ODI (from 33.95±5.84 to 25.65±4.79, p<0.001) improved significantly, and successful patient satisfaction were achieved in 20 patients (66.7%) 1 day after surgery. These immediate improvements were maintained or more improved during the follow-up. There was no surgery- or product-related complications, but OVCF recurred in two patients (6.7%). Favorable cement interdigitation was reported in 24 patients (80.0%), and extra-vertebral cement leakage was reported in 13 patients (43.0%). The mean vertebral height ratio (from 60.49%±21.97% to 80.07%±13.16%, p<0.001) and segmental kyphotic angle (from 11.46°±8.50° to 7.79°±6.08°, p=0.002) improved one day after surgery. However, these short-term radiological findings somewhat regressed at the end. Conclusion : The overall outcomes of PVP using Spinofill^® were as favorable as those of other conventionally used products.

• Journal of the Korean Orthopaedic Association
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.336-342
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• 2019

Purpose: To examine the relationship between the progression of a kyphotic deformity and the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in conservatively treated osteoporotic thoracolumbar compression fracture patients. Materials and Methods: This study categorized the patients who underwent conservative treatment among those patients who underwent treatment under the suspicion of a thoracolumbar compression fracture from January 2007 to March 2016. Among them, this retrospective study included eighty-nine patients with osteoporosis and osteopenia with a bone density of less than -2.0 and single vertebral body fracture. This study examined the MRI of anterior longitudinal ligament or posterior longitudinal ligament injury, superior or inferior endplate disruption, superior of inferior intravertebral disc injury, the presence of low signal intensity on T2-weighted images, and bone edema of intravertebral bodies in fractured intravertebral bodies. Results: In cases where the superior endplate was disrupted or the level of bone edema of the intravertebral bodies was high, the kyphotic angle, wedge angle, and anterior vertebral compression showed remarkably progression. In the case of damage to the anterior longitudinal ligament or the superior disc, only the kyphotic angle was markedly prominent. On the T2-weighted images, low signal intensity lesions showed a high wedge angle and high anterior vertebral compression. On the other hand, there were no significant correlations among the posterior longitudinal ligament injury, inferior endplate disruption, inferior disc injury, and the progression of kyphotic deformity and vertebral compression. The risk factors that increase the kyphotic angle by more than 5° include the presence of injuries to the anterior longitudinal ligament, superior endplate disruption, and superior disc injury, and the risk factors were 21.3, 5.1, and 8.5 times higher than those of the uninjured case, and the risk differed according to the level of bone edema. Conclusion: An osteoporotic thoracolumbar compression fracture in osteoporotic or osteopenic patients, anterior longitudinal ligament injury, superior endplate and intravertebral disc injury, and high level of edema in the MRI were critical factors that increases the risk of kyphotic deformity.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.63 no.6
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• pp.794-805
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• 2020

Objective : Teriparatide is known as an effective anabolic agent not only for severe osteoporosis but also for bone healing and union. We explored the possibility of teriparatide as an alternative treatment option for osteoporotic thoracolumbar (TL) burst fracture. Methods : This retrospective study enrolled 35 female patients with mean age of 73.77±6.71 years (61-88) diagnosed as osteoporotic TL burst fracture with ≥4 of thoracolumbar injury classification and severity (TLICS) score and no neurological deficits. All patients were treated by teriparatide only (12 of group A), teriparatide plus vertebroplasty (12 of group B), or surgical fixation with fusion (11 of group C), and followed up for 12 months. Radiological outcomes were evaluated using radiological parameters including kyphotic angle (KA), segmental vertebral kyphotic angle (SVKA), compression ratio (CR), and vertebral body height (anterior [AH], middle [MH], posterior [PH]). Functional outcomes were evaluated using visual analog scale (VAS) and Macnab classification (MC). Results : There were no statistical significant differences in age, bone mineral density (-3.36±0.73), and TLICS score (4.34±0.48) among the three groups (p>0.05). Teriparatide was administered during 8.63±2.32 months in group A and B. In 12-month radiological outcomes, there were significant restoration in SVKA, CR, AH, and MH of group B and KA, SVKA, CR, AH, and MH of group C compared to group A with no radiological changes (p<0.05). All groups showed similar significant improvements in 12-month functional outcomes, although group B and C showed a better 1-month VAS, 1-month MC, 3-month MC compared to group A (p<0.05). Conclusion : Non-surgical treatment with teriparatide showed similar 12-month functional outcomes compared to surgical fixation with fusion. The additional vertebroplasty to teriparatide and surgical fixation with fusion were more helpful to improve short-term functional outcomes with structural restoration compared to teriparatide only.