Adjacent vertebral fractures after percutaneous vertebral augmentation of osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture: a comparison of balloon kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty.

Introduction It is still controversial whether adjacent level compression fractures after balloon kyphoplasty (BK) and vertebroplasty (VP) should be regarded as the consequence of stiffness achieved by augmentation with bone cement or if the adjacent level fractures are simply the result of the natural progression of osteoporosis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the adjacent level fracture risk after BK as compared with VP and to determine the possible dominant risk factor associated with new compression fractures.