title: Percutaneous vertebroplasty complications.
abstract: Percutaneous vertebroplasty, among various other options, has become a mainstay in the management of osteoporotic and malignant vertebral fractures. The purpose of this article is to describe complications arising from the procedure, which can be classified as mild, which may include a temporary increase in pain and transient hypotension; moderate, including infection and extravasation of cement into the foraminal, epidural or dural space; and severe such as cement leakage in the paravertebral veins, leading to pulmonary embolism, cardiac perforation, cerebral embolism or even death. Vertebroplasty is not a procedure without complications. The article defines them and describes methods to minimize them.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. nizar97@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Nizar A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Al-Nakshabandi
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000150:complications; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016103:Spinal Fractures / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D013125:Spinal Neoplasms / Q000150:complications; D054854:Vertebroplasty / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000379:methods