Percutaneous vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty belong among well established procedures used for treatment of osteoporotic fractures as well as for treatment of vertebral bodies affected by multiple myeloma, hemangiomas, or metastases. Injection of PMMA cement into the site of fracture enables its stabilisation.
The analgesic effect is also facilitated by cytotoxic and thermal effect of bone cement. In percutaneous kyphoplasty, a cavity in the fractured vertebral body is firstly formed by means of an inflatable balloon, which is subsequently filled with bone cement.
Both procedures are safe for the patient and are associated with minimal risk of symptomatic complications.