Cement embolus trapped in the inferior vena cava filter during percutaneous vertebroplasty.

Percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) is now widely used for the treatment of many painful vertebral compression fractures, which are secondary to osteoporosis, multiple myeloma, metastatic tumors, and hemangioma (1). Severe complications are rare and most are related to the leakage of the bone cement into the spinal canal or the perivertebral venous system (1). Here we present an interesting case of cement leakage into the venous system during PVP, extending into the inferior vena cava (IVC) and then being trapped within a previously placed IVC filter. Cement Embolus Trapped in the Inferior Vena Cava Filter during Percutaneous Vertebroplasty Zhi Li, MD, Rui-fang Ni, MD, PhD, Xin Zhao, MD, Chao Yang, MD, Ming-ming Li, MD Departments of Interventional Radiology and General Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215006, China