Kyphoplasty versus vertebroplasty to increase vertebral body height: a cadaveric study.

PURPOSE: To prospectively compare the vertebral height restoration achieved with kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty in fresh cadavers by using multi–detector row computed tomography (CT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Institutional review board approval was not required because the donors had registered in and consented to an anatomic gift program prior to their death. Thirty-seven vertebrae were harvested from four donated cadavers of elderly female individuals (mean age, 82 years; age range at death, 73–87 years). The vertebrae were dissected free of the surrounding muscles and imaged with multi–detector row CT. Compression fractures were induced, and the vertebrae were again imaged. The vertebrae were randomized to be treated with kyphoplasty (n = 19) or vertebroplasty (n = 18) and were then imaged at multi–detector row CT. The anterior, central, and posterior vertebral body heights and wedge angles were measured in the midsagittal plane of the reformatted images. The amount of cement injected was determined by w...