Studies reveal common Spine Surgery is mere sham

The findings were reported by two groups of researchers in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday. One of the study was conducted by researchers from Monash University in Melbourne, while the other was conducted by the Mayo Clinic.

Popular technique
The technique called Vertebroplasty is thus as good as a sham operation, reveal the results of two independently conducted studies.

Vertebroplasty essentially involves injecting surgical cement into the vertebrae of patients to relieve pain from spinal fractures due to osteoporosis.

The findings come as a rude shock not only to the medical fraternity but also to the thousands of patients who have undergone this treatment which costs as much as much as $3,000.

Initially introduced in the early 1990s, Vertebroplasty is now commonly accepted technique for spinal surgeries. It is meant to be pretty helpful in alleviating pain and enhancing mobility.

Over the years, the technique’s popularity has soared after doctors reported extraordinary results after trying it on patients.

Similar findings
For the purpose of the study, the Australian researchers treated 78 patients with harsh pain from osteoporosis-related vertebral fractures with either cement injections or a placebo.

Pain, quality of life, and functional status of the spine was measured a week after the treatment, and then after one, three, and six months subsequently. The researchers found that there was similar improvement in the pain, function, and quality of life in both groups, the one that received cement injections and the one that received a placebo.

“Our trial found no benefit for this treatment, so it should not be used in clinical practice,” said Rachelle Buchbinder, PhD, from Monash University.

The Mayo Clinic trial was similarly structured. It examined 131 patients from eight treatment centers in the U.S., UK, and Australia.

Out of these 131 patients, 68 received a vertebroplasty, and 61 received a sham procedure. Back of the patients in the latter category was numbed, the surgeons then pressed on it as if they were injecting cement. These patients were also exposed to the characteristic smell of the cement.

Interventional neuroradiologist David F. Kallmes, MD, of the Mayo Clinic echoed Buchbinder’s opinion, “I think it’s fair to say that vertebroplasty does not work in the way that we thought it does, but it does work. It’s just that the (sham) treatment worked just as well and we can’t say why.”

Kallmes however, did not discard Vertebroplasty altogether. He said, “It is possible that there was a treatment effect (with the cement treatment) that we were just unable to measure. I don’t think we should give up on this procedure. I think it needs to be studied in more detail.”