The International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery has released guidelines for vertebral augmentation. Citing several studies released over the past decade, the society has developed five guidelines, stating:
"1. The presence of a vertebral compression fracture is not by itself an indication for vertebral augmentation.
2. Patients with back pain and vertebral compression fractures should be carefully evaluated to determine if other reasons for pain exist.
3. Patients with painful vertebral fractures, where other causes of pain have been evaluated, are candidates for vertebral augmentation when they fail non-operative treatment. This is particularly the case when the pain is increasing or disabling or there is progressive collapse of the fracture.
4. The patient should be evaluated with an MRI to determine that it has not healed and that there are no additional fractures which were missed on the x-ray. A bone scan is also helpful in this respect.
5. Vertebral augmentation procedures are not the same. Studies of VP cannot be used to evaluate studies of BKP and vice versa."
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