Efficiency of Balloon Kyphoplasty in the Treatment of Osteoporotic Vertebral Compression Fractures.

Eighty-seven osteoporotic vertebral fractures of 82 patients were treated with balloon kyphoplasty. Preoperative, postoperative and follow-up outcomes of functional impairment, pain scores and vertebral height restorations of the patients were recorded and evaluated statistically. Seventy-two of the patients were female (87.8%) and 10 (12.2%) were male. Mean age of all patients were 66.4 years. Preoperative mean Anterior Vertebral Body Height of 48.20±13.94 % and Middle Vertebral Body Height of 59.40±14.26 % were recorded as 79.91±9.50 % and 86.90±8.38 % respectively postoperatively and noted to be 73.26±8.59 % and 84.65±8.19 % at last controls respectively. The mean Oswestry Disability Index and Visual Analog Pain Scale also improved significantly. Local Kyphosis of all the patients were also evaluated and a significant improvement was noted postoperatively. The long term results of this study suggest that balloon kyphoplasty is an effective and safe treatment option in osteoporotic vertebral fractures and should be considered for functional improvement, pain relief and height restoration.