Therapeutic considerations of percutaneous sacroplasty for the sacral insufficiency fracture

Abstract

Sacral insufficiency fracture is a debilitating injury not easily found in general radiologic examinations and is rarely diagnosed, since its symptoms are obscure. It is known to frequently occur in patients with osteoporosis, but the treatment has not yet been established and various kinds of treatment methods are being attempted. Sacroplasty is sometimes performed by applying percutaneous vertebroplasty which is known to be a less invasive treatment. Since the course of diagnosis of sacral insufficiency fracture is difficult and clear guidelines for treatments have not yet been established, many spine surgeons fail to diagnose patients or speculate on treatment methods. We report our experience in diagnosing a sacral insufficiency fracture in a 54-year-old healthy female patient using MRI and treating her with sacroplasty. From a therapeutic point of view, we then cover the usefulness, effects and characteristics relating to the complications of sacroplasty, along with literature review. Copyright © 2010 The Korean Neurosurgical Society.