Percutaneous consolidation of bone metastases: strategies and techniques

Abstract

Patients with cancer can present with bone metastases (BM), which are frequently complicated by different types of fractures necessitating prompt management to avoid serious impairment in terms of quality of life and survival. Percutaneous image-guided bone consolidation has rapidly emerged as an alternative to surgical fixation and is mainly reserved for patients who are deemed unfit for surgical management. Two percutaneous techniques, osteoplasty and osteosynthesis, are available and are selected based on the biomechanics of the target bones as well as the fracture types. The aim of this narrative review is to present the different types of BM-related fractures and the interventional strategies and techniques underpinning their minimally invasive percutaneous fixation.