ArticleEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2025
Is there a learning curve preforming balloon kyphoplasty?
Article in European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
STUDY
designRetrospective Cohort Study.
objectivesBalloon Kyphoplasty (BKP) is a minimally invasive surgical option for vertebral fractures. The learning curve associated with BKP remains underexplored. This study aims to delineate the learning curve of BKP, focusing on operative time, radiation exposure, and PMMA leakage, hypothesizing that proficiency stabilizes after 10-20 cases.
methodsWe retrospectively reviewed 194 patients who underwent BKP at a single center (2008-2020). Data collected were demographics, operative time, radiation exposure, and PMMA leakage. Statistical analysis employed t-tests, Chi-square, and multivariate logistic regression to correlate outcomes with surgeon experience.
resultsOur Cohort's age was 77.3±9.2, with female predominance (73.2%). The average surgery length for single-level BKP was 37.3±18.4 minutes, with radiation exposure at 14.3±12.1 mGy. The learning curve, best modelled by a second-order polynomial equation (single-level BKP): y=0.0404X
conclusionThe learning curve of BKP plateaus relatively early in a surgeon's experience, suggesting that the procedure's technical proficiency can be acquired rapidly. However, optimizing radiation exposure requires continued attention beyond the initial learning phase. This study is novel in describing a spine surgeon's learning curve performing BKP with an added value to every surgery performed well beyond the first 10-20 cases. PMMA leakage incidence did not change over surgical experience, suggesting a trade-off between vertebral PMMA filling versus the occurrence of an insignificant anterolateral or intradiscal PMMA leak. SYNONYMS: Balloon kyphoplasty (BKP); Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA.
Indexed as
Identifiers
40999221What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.