New Technology for Surgical Treatment of Osteoporotic Vertebral Compression Fractures: The Transvertebral Bone Graft and Fixation.

OBJECTIVE

To introduce an innovative surgical technique, transvertebral bone graft and augmentation (TBGA), to and evaluate its clinical efficacy in treating osteoporotic vertebral body compression fractures (VCFs), with balloon kyphoplasty (BKP) as a control.

METHODS

A total of 81 patients with a single-level osteoporotic VCF underwent TBGA (n = 38) or BKP (n = 43) at our hospital between October 2012 and January 2015. The average duration of follow-up period was 27.9 months. The patients were evaluated with plain radiography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging preoperatively, immediately postoperatively, at 3- and 6-month follow-ups, and every 6 months thereafter. Clinical status was assessed using the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and a visual analog scale (VAS). In addition, parameters of anterior vertebral body height (AVBH), kyphosis angle (KA), adjacent segment degeneration (ASD), and complications were also compared between the 2 groups.

RESULTS

Significant clinical improvements in ODI, VAS scores, AVBH, and KA were seen in both the TBGA and BKP groups after surgery (P < 0.05). However, the differences in improvements in ODI and VAS between the TBGA and BKP groups were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). The improvements in AVBH and KA were significantly better in the TBGA group (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the rates of ASD and complications were significantly lower in the TBGA group during the follow-up period (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

TBGA is an effective and safe surgical technique that appears to be a promising alternative to BKP for the surgical treatment of osteoporotic VCFs.