Guest Editor Orlando Ortiz
A lot has happened, and not much has happened, in the field of vertebral augmentation since 1984, when a small team of doctors decided to treat a painful hemangioma of the C2 vertebra via a transoral route by placing a bone needle within the lesion and injecting radiopaque acrylic bone cement under … more »
Benedikt J. Schwaiger
Osteoporotic fractures are one of the main causes of disability worldwide and are associated with increased mortality. Despite the clinical relevance and growing prevalence of the disease due to the aging population, only the minority of affected elderly men and women undergo bone mineral density (BMD) screening with one of the established … more »
Joshua A. Hirsch
Although commonplace today, with upwards of 100,000 procedures performed each year in the US, vertebral augmentation has evolved from truly humble beginnings. In 2016 it is an integral component of minimally invasive treatment for spine disease. The AJNR contributed significantly to the early vertebral augmentation literature with a publication on the … more »
Alessandro Cianfoni
Cement vertebral augmentation has a role in neoplastic lytic lesions of the spine for pain palliation and structural strengthening. In fact, differently from osteoporotic compression fractures, neoplastic vertebral fractures have a high potential of compression and compromise of neural structures. The more extensive the lytic involvement of the vertebral body, the higher the … more »
Adam N. Wallace
Spinal skeletal-related events (SREs)—defined as pain requiring palliative radiation therapy or surgical intervention, pathologic vertebral compression fracture, epidural spinal cord compression, and hypercalcemia—are associated with declines in physical, functional, and emotional well-being and survival. Most currently available therapies mitigate the pain and disability resulting from these complications; however, the authors of … more »
Anderanik Tomasian
The vertebral column is the most common site for bone metastases and is a major cause of morbidity. The current standard of care for the management of painful osseous metastases is external beam radiation, which achieves partial pain palliation, but often there is a delay in the relief of symptoms. In addition, painful … more »