Fluoroscopy-guided sacroplasty: special focus on preoperative planning from three-dimensional computed tomography.

BACKGROUND: Osteoporotic sacral insufficiency fractures are usually spontaneous or caused by discrete traumas. The fluoroscopic anatomy of the sacrum can be difficult to understand, and this is why sacroplasty is considered more challenging than ordinary vertebroplasties.

PURPOSE: To demonstrate the planning of the procedure and the effectiveness of treatment with sacroplasty by means of three-dimensional computed tomography (3D CT) by combining multiplanar reconstructions (MPR) and volume-rendering technique (VRT).

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Five elderly, osteoporotic patients with intense pelvic and hip pain underwent weeks of inconclusive clinical and radiological diagnostic efforts. Correct diagnosis was finally attained with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and CT. Plain radiographs rarely show fractures, and MR or CT examinations are necessary to demonstrate longitudinal fractures. The procedures were performed with digital biplane equipment using preoperative 3D CT planning procedures. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) was injected to fill the fracture sites.

RESULTS: The fractures were successfully treated with sacroplasty using PMMA. A new technique, which involves placing the needles along the long axis of the sacrum, was optimized to the individual patients' fractures and sacral anatomy by meticulous planning on a workstation with 3D CT data sets. It was technically successful in all five cases. Four of the five patients had sustained pain relief.

CONCLUSION: Sacral insufficiency fractures are not uncommon and should be considered in the elderly population with low back pain. Sacroplasty using the optimized "long-axis technique" gave almost immediate pain relief for all five patients in our study material. No complications were observed.