RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Safety and Efficacy of Balloon Kyphoplasty for Vertebral Fractures With Posterior Wall Disruption JF International Journal of Spine Surgery JO Int J Spine Surg FD International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery SP 8046 DO 10.14444/8046 A1 Jennifer L. Perez A1 Alp Ozpinar A1 Nitin Agarwal A1 Emily Hacker A1 Nima Alan A1 Peter C. Gerszten YR 2021 UL http://ijssurgery.com//content/early/2021/03/30/8046.abstract AB Background Percutaneous balloon kyphoplasty (BK) is widely accepted as both a safe and effective method for the treatment of symptomatic benign vertebral compression fractures (VCFs) of the thoracic and lumbar spines. A disruption in the posterior wall of the affected vertebra is often considered to be a relative or an absolute contraindication to BK. This study was performed to determine the safety as well as the efficacy of BK for vertebral body compression fractures associated with posterior wall disruption.Methods This was a retrospective, nonrandomized clinical cohort investigation of patients with VCF and posterior wall disruption treated with BK between 2010 and 2018. All cases were performed using a bipedicular technique. Each case was examined for cement leakage, anterior vertebral body height restoration, improvement in pain (determined by VAS) from baseline and 6-week postprocedure, and clinical sequelae from cement leakage.Results Ninety-eight consecutive patients with 157 VCF levels who underwent BK were evaluated. There was a significant improvement in anterior vertebral height, vertebral wedge angle, and local kyphotic angle in all cases. The mean preoperative VAS improved from 8.7 preprocedure to 2.5 postprocedure (P = .001). There were 14 (9%) cases with asymptomatic cement leakage outside of the vertebral body, and no patients experienced postprocedure neurological symptoms at the 6-week follow up.Conclusions BK in the setting of posterior wall disruption was found to be a safe and highly effective treatment for patients with benign compression fractures. Posterior wall disruption should not be considered an absolute contraindication to BK.