A minimally invasive surgical treatment possibility of osteolytic vertebral collapse in multiple myeloma

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a B cell malignancy characterized by important alterations of physiologic bone turnover, wherein increased osteoclastic bone resorption is not accompanied by a comparable increase in bone formation, resulting in diffuse osteopenia, focal lytic lesions, pathologic fractures, hypercalcemia, and bony pain. Consequently, patients with MM frequently require for quality of life’s improvement and pain’s treatment radiation therapy, surgery, and analgesic medication. Minimally invasive surgical procedures such as the kyphoplasty allows patients with pathological osteolytic vertebral lesions to have immediate improvement in their quality of life. This surgical technique provides in myeloma vertebral collapses same quick pain relief as in osteoporotic vertebral fractures, and a minor morphological restoration of the interested vertebra, but sufficient to restore sagittal alignment. The aim of the study was to evaluate the functional and morphological results of kyphoplasty for the treatment of vertebral osteolysis due to MM. We report a retrospective study in 30 such patients (45 vertebral lesions) who were evaluated before and after kyphoplasty, with regard to pain, general condition, quality of life, use of analgesics, by means of evaluation forms: Short-Form-36, Visual Analog Scale, Oswestry Disability Index, and with regard to percentage height restored and reduction of segmental kyphosis. Marked clinical improvement was observed in all patients during the first 12 postoperative months, with gradual a little worsening thereafter from deterioration of their general condition to 60-month follow-up. The restoration of vertebral body mean height was maintained to 5 years clinical and radiographic control. Segmental kyphosis angle correction showed a mean decrease of 1.7° (range 0°–2.5°) at radiographic control at 5-year follow-up, with respect to the immediate postoperative X-ray, although lower than preoperative. The data obtained demonstrated the effectiveness of kyphoplasty in the treatment of vertebral collapse in MM. The results achieved with this minimally invasive technique were clinically and biomechanically satisfactory.