Spinal metastases of bronchopulmonary cancers: interest of balloon kyphoplasty in the control of mechanical rachialgia

Abstract

IntroductionSpinal metastases are a classic complication of lung cancer. New palliative treatment modalities have emerged. Among them are minimally invasive approaches such as balloon kyphoplasty. With the aim of evaluating the efficiency of balloon kyphoplasty in the control of spinal pain during these lesions, we report a series of 24 patients.Methods and materialsOver a period of 6 years, we retrospectively studied 24 files of patients suffering from vertebral compression of metastatic pulmonary origin and treated by balloon kyphoplasty from January 2009 to December 2014 in the neurosurgery department of the North Hospital of Marseille (France).ResultsThe mean age was 66.2 years (39–80 years) with a sex ratio of 5. Dorsal location was predominantly 17 cases. Balloon kyphoplasty involved one level in 14 patients. The general condition (Karnofski) was bad in 16 patients. Survival prediction was less than 6 months in 22 patients. The indication was mainly pain with a mean visual analog scale of 7.7. The evolution was marked by the regression of the painful symptomatology in all patients with a mean visual analog scale of 2.2 postoperatively. Postoperative complications were noted in two cases (pulmonary embolism, compression of the left iliac vein).ConclusionOur short series shows the efficacy and low morbidity of balloon kyphoplasty in the control of spinal pain secondary to vertebral metastases of bronchopulmonary cancers.