Painful pathologic fracture of the humerus: Percutaneous osteoplasty with bone marrow nails under hybrid computed tomography and fluoroscopic guidance

A case of a 75-year-old patient with a painful pathologic humeral shaft fracture, with unacceptably high surgical risk and unsatisfactory analgesia is reported. In this case, impaired arm function and persistent pain with conservative management resulted in a poor quality of life. Palliation with image-guided percutaneous osteoplasty was considered. Because of potential cement leakage, inadequate fracture reduction, the site of the fracture, and the mobility of the joints in that area, image-guided percutaneous delivery of metallic bone marrow nails implanted together with polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) osteoplasty was performed. This procedure achieved humeral shaft stabilization, bone fragment alignment, fracture reduction, and pain relief.