Long-term safety and clinical performance of kyphoplasty and SpineJack® procedures in the treatment of osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures: a pilot, monocentric, investigator-initiated study.

This pilot monocenter study in 30 patients with painful osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures compared two vertebral augmentation procedures. Over a 3-year post-surgery follow-up, pain/disability/quality of life remained significantly improved with both balloon kyphoplasty and SpineJack® techniques, but the latter allowed better vertebral body height restoration/kyphosis correction. Patient follow-up rarely exceed 2 years in trials comparing vertebral augmentation procedures for the treatment of painful osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (VCFs). This pilot, investigator-initiated, prospective study aimed to compare long-term results of SpineJack® (SJ) and balloon kyphoplasty (BKP). Preliminary results showed that SJ resulted in a better restoration of vertebral heights and angles, maintained over 12 months. Thirty patients were randomized to SJ (n = 15) or BKP (n = 15). Clinical endpoints were analgesic consumption, back pain intensity (visual analog scale (VAS)), the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), and quality of life (EQ-VAS score). They were recorded preoperatively, at 5 days (except EQ-VAS), 1, 3, 6, 12, and 36 months post-surgery. Spine X-rays were taken 48 h prior to the procedure and 5 days, 6, 12, and 36 months after. Clinical improvements were observed with both procedures over the 3-year period without significant inter-group differences, but the final mean EQ-5D In this study, both techniques displayed very good long-term clinical efficiency and safety in patients with osteoporotic VCFs. Over the 3-year follow-up, vertebral body height restoration/kyphosis correction was better with the SpineJack® procedure.