Because of severe intractable pain, the patient was treated successfully at multiple levels by vertebroplasty. Vertebroplasty is a relatively new procedure designed to help patients with osteoporosis of the spine. Patients lose mineralization of the bones, making them prone to compression fractures which can be very painful. It has been found that injecting the affected vertebral bodies with a special preparation of orthopedic cement can greatly relieve this pain. Furthermore, those vertebral bodies which are weakened but not yet fractured can be strengthened by injecting this cement, thus preventing future problems.
Patients can usually go home from the hospital the next morning.
A middle-aged patient had a carotid cavernous fistula as a result of a car accident. His right eye became swollen and distended. A loud pulsatile noise was audible over the right side of his forehead. For technical reasons, the patient could not be treated successfully with balloons. His eye then recovered satisfactorily.