Investigation of polymethylmethacrylate pulmonary embolus in a patient ten years following vertebroplasty
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3941/jrcr.v5i10.815Keywords:
Pulmonary cement embolus, polymethylmethacrylate, vertebroplasty, kyphoplastyAbstract
Percutaneous vertebroplasty (PV) is a procedure commonly used for the treatment of vertebral compression fractures, and the number of procedures has been steadily increasing over the past decade. We report a case of an 81 year old female with a history of breast cancer that developed two vertebral body compression fractures and was subsequently treated with PV. The patient developed a subsegmental pulmonary polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) embolus as a complication of the procedure. Ten years following the procedure, she remained asymptomatic with the PMMA embolus being discovered incidentally during workup for a suspected chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation. In reviewing the case, we describe the typical presentation of a pulmonary PMMA embolus and consider methods to decrease the incidence of this complication.
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