How does vertebroplasty repair compression fractures?
Vertebroplasty is performed as a fluoroscope-guided procedure, with the patient under either general or local anesthetic. With the patient lying on his or her stomach on a special table flanked by a fluoroscopic imaging “C-arm” and a bank of video monitors to assist in real-time positioning, the interventional radiologist guides a hollow needle about the width of a drinking straw through the soft tissues of the back and into the targeted vertebral section. A small amount of medical dye is continually injected to allow visualization of the needle and its location. Orthopedic cement called polymethylmethacrylate, or PMMA (and sometimes just methylmethacrylate), is conveyed through the needle into the vertebral structure. Used for orthopaedic joint implants for some years, PMMA has the form of a thick paste when it is introduced through the needle into the targeted boney structure. Injections are made on both the right and left sides of the vertebra. Mixed in with the PMMA is an antibioti
