• Marc J Nieuwenhuijse and P D Sander Dijkstra.
• Leids Universitair Medisch Centrum, Leiden, Afd. Orthopedie, the Netherlands. M.J.Nieuwenhuijse@lumc.nl
• Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. 2010 Jan 1; 154: A2199.

AbstractPercutaneous vertebral augmentation, with percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) as its most widely used variant, is currently the only intervention for painful osteoporotic compression fractures. This procedure offers immediate and substantial pain relief in over 80% of treated patients with a low reported complication rate (< 1.6%). A large number of studies have shown promising results and the superiority of this treatment over conservative treatment has been established. Results of the first two, long-awaited, placebo-controlled trials were unexpected: improvement after PVP was similar to improvement after placebo treatment. Limitations in the design of both trials prevented widespread implementation of the results. We believe that PVP cannot be regarded as an obsolete treatment as long as patients are carefully selected. Patients with persistent (over 2 months) and painful osteoporotic vertebral fractures have been shown to benefit from vertebroplasty and are therefore suitable candidates for this procedure, which, in these cases, can prevent complications due to long-term disabling pain.

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