ÖZGÜR ÖCAL, GÖKSAL GÜNERHAN, DENİZHAN DİVANLIOĞLU, AHMET EREN SEÇEN, UĞUR KEMAL GÜNDÜ, BETÜL SAYLAK, DENİZ BELEN, ALİ DALGIÇ
Journal of Turkish Spinal Surgery - 2022;33(4):140-143
Objective: Pathologic vertebral fractures are most commonly caused by osteoporosis, and kyphoplasty is one of the most common minimally invasive surgical treatments. In osteoporotic vertebral fractures, the underlying pathology may not be recognized. Therefore, a needle biopsy may be essential during kyphoplasty. This study investigated the incidence of unsuspected malignancies in patients undergoing kyphoplasty for osteoporotic vertebral fractures. Materials and Methods: Data from 56 patients (29 women, 27 men) who underwent kyphoplasty and had needle biopsy were retrospectively reviewed. Patients in whom no bone biopsy was performed and those in whom kyphoplasty was performed for reasons other than osteoporosis were excluded from the study. Patients who did not experience relief after medical treatment and who had a visual analog scale score of 6 were included in the study. Results: Five patients not suspected to have malignant disease were diagnosed with malignancy after pathological examination. Two of them were thought to have metastases from a primary tumor (one breast cancer and one prostate cancer). The incidence of unexpected malignancy was 8.9%. Conclusion: Percutaneous needle biopsy is a low-cost highly effective method. Therefore, we recommend routine needle biopsy during kyphoplasty.
