A syringe compressor for vertebroplasty: Technical note

Objective Percutaneous vertebroplasty (VP) has become a popular technique to treat osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures and spinal column neoplasms. The consistency of the bone cement mixture during the procedure would appear to be increasing with time, but the physician experiences injection difficulty, and there are also concerns with the limited injection time available for such a procedure. Methods We describe a special-design screw-syringe compressor to be used with the ordinary 10 mL Luer-Lok syringe and a short connecting tube for the injection of bone cement during VP. Results The syringe compressor could yield maximum 2,772 psi compression pressure and could finely control the cement delivery rate to 0.2 mL/ a turn. We have used this technique to treat 296 consecutive patients with 384 vertebral compression fractures who were suffering from disabling back pain refractory to analgesic therapy. Using this technique, the injection time can be prolonged to 12 min and the delivery volume can be better controlled. Conclusion With the aid of the syringe compressor, the cementing material can be accurately and steadily injected as desired by the physician. Bone-cement injection can be better controlled with this syringe compressor. Furthermore, this delivery system would reduce per treatment cost.