Infected vertebroplasty. Report of two cases and review of the literature.

Transpedicular vertebroplasty has been established as a safe and effective treatment for thoracic and lumbar compression fractures. Complications are rare and infectious complications requiring surgical management have only been reported once in the literature. In this paper the authors present two patients in whom osteomyelitis developed after vertebroplasty in which corpectomy was required. The serious nature of these infections, their surgical management, and complication avoidance are discussed.