Abstract: Objective To evaluate the therapeutic effects of conservative treatment of refracture in cemented vertebrae after
percutaneous vertebroplasty for osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures in elderly patients. Methods Between January,
2012 and August, 2014, a total of 324 elderly patients (381 vertebrae) received percutaneous vertebroplasty for osteoporotic
vertebral compression fractures. Of these patients, 12 patients (14 vertebrae) complained of recurrence of back pain and were
confirmed to have refracture in the cemented vertebrae by imaging examination. Seven of these 12 patients (9 vertebrae), who
were all female with an average refracture time of 8 ± 6.7 weeks (range 2-20 weeks), received conservative treatments with
analgesics, osteoporosis medication, bracing and physical therapy, and their visual analogue scale (VAS) scores and Oswestry
disability index (ODI) at 7 days and 1, 3 and 12 months after the treatment were measured. Results The 7 patients were
followed up for 21.3 ± 11.2 months (range 13-29 months) after conservative treatments. Their VAS score and ODI decreased
significantly over time after the treatment (P<0.05) and showed significant differences between the measurements at 7 days, 1
and 3 months (P<0.05) but not between 3 and 12 months (P>0.05). The average VAS score and ODI before treatments were 8.3±
0.8 and (88.3 ± 3.2)% , 3.1 ± 1.2 and (56.3 ± 7.7)% at 1 month, and 0.8 ± 0.7 and (5.9 ± 2.8)% at 3 months during the follow-up,
respectively．No such complications as phlebothrombosis of the leg, decubitus, or hypostatic pneumonia occurred in these
cases. Conclusion Though with a relatively low incidence rate, refracture in the cemented vertebrae is one of the important
causes of recurrence of back pain following percutaneous vertebroplasty. Conservative treatment is effective in relieving pain
and improving the spine function in such cases without obvious complications.