Clinical comparison of postoperative results of balloon kyphoplasty (BKP) versus radiofrequency-targeted vertebral augmentation (RF-TVA): a prospective clinical study.

introductionOsteoporotic vertebral fractures are a frequent occurrence in geriatric traumatology. Differences in the achievement of pain reduction and restoration of the height of the vertebral body after balloon kyphoplasty (BKP) or radiofrequency-targeted vertebral augmentation (RF-TVA) were to be tested on a randomized population.

methodsA total of 80 patients (f = 59; m = 21) with osteoporotic fractures of vertebral bodies were assigned to the groups BKP (n = 44) or RF-TVA (n = 36). The clinical analyses were compared peri- and postoperatively in a prospective study with an additional follow-up examination after 1 year.

resultsThe operations for BKP were bipedicular in all cases; for RF-TVA, a bipedicular access was required in only five cases (14 %) (p>0.0001). There were confirmed differences with respect to the amount of cement used (ml) between the two groups (BKP = 4.9 ± 1 vs. RFTVA= 3.4 ± 1; p<0.001). In the BKP group, the angle of kyphosis was reduced by an average of 1.65° and in the RF-TVA group by an average of 2.8° by the operation. The analysis of the maximum VAS data showed a clear postoperative reduction in the intensity of pain of approximately 4.5 cm in each of the groups with no discernible difference. After 12 months, the majority of patients in both groups (BKP = 61 % vs. RF-TVA = 83 %) reported being free of pain when at rest without a significant difference(p = 0.05).

conclusionsA certain superiority of RF-TVA with respect to pain relief, amount of cement required, savings of operating time and personnel, and greater safety with respect to cement leakage noted in this study are consistent with other published literature. The differences between the two methods in the frequency of subsequent postoperative fractures and the secondary loss of high restoration were encouraging regarding RF-TVA.