Abstract
We present three cases of severe movement-related spinal pain in patients with advanced metastatic carcinomas successfully treated with percutaneous vertebroplasty (PV). These patients had multi-symptom burden and progressive metastasis. Their movement-related pain was incapacitating and refractory to a variety of more conservative interventions. PV is a minimally invasive technique to stabilize vertebral compression fractures, thereby decreasing spinal pain in this setting. Its use in the setting of advanced cancer with severe movement-related pain has not been previously clarified in the palliative care literature. In summary, PV is a technique with a favorable risk: benefit ratio even in the setting of advanced metastatic cancer. The keys to successful utilization of PV in this patient population are careful patient assessment and selection as outlined in the report, in addition to an experienced care team approach.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 87-95 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Journal of pain and symptom management |
Volume | 30 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 2005 |
Keywords
- Cancer
- Pain management
- Palliative care
- Percutaneous vertebroplasty
- Spinal metastasis
- Vertebral body fracture
- Vertebral compression fracture
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Nursing
- Clinical Neurology
- Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine