title: Investigation of polymethylmethacrylate pulmonary embolus in a patient ten years following vertebroplasty.
abstract: Percutaneous vertebroplasty (PV) is a procedure commonly used for the treatment of vertebral compression fractures, and the number of procedures has been steadily increasing over the past decade. We report a case of an 81 year old female with a history of breast cancer that developed two vertebral body compression fractures and was subsequently treated with PV. The patient developed a subsegmental pulmonary polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) embolus as a complication of the procedure. Ten years following the procedure, she remained asymptomatic with the PMMA embolus being discovered incidentally during workup for a suspected chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation. In reviewing the case, we describe the typical presentation of a pulmonary PMMA embolus and consider methods to decrease the incidence of this complication.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Madigan Army Medical Center, Tacoma, WA 98431, USA. David.Leitman@us.army.mil
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Leitman
authors.forename: Victor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cox
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001843:Bone Cements; D005119:Extravasation of Diagnostic and Therapeutic Materials / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D050815:Fractures, Compression / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D019904:Polymethyl Methacrylate; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000209:etiology*; D011859:Radiography; D016103:Spinal Fractures / Q000628:therapy*; D013997:Time Factors; D054854:Vertebroplasty / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D001843:Bone Cements; D019904:Polymethyl Methacrylate