Technical strategies and anatomic considerations for parapedicular access to thoracic and lumbar vertebral bodies.

Objectives: To investigate and illustrate a variation on the traditional percutaneous access to the vertebral body via a parapedicular approach.

Design: An effective parapedicular access technique that could safely and reliably guide the needle tip into the center of the vertebral body was developed from cadaver dissection observations for the purpose of clinical use.

Patients: A total of 102 vertebral compression fractures from T-4 to L-5 were treated via the parapedicular access at our institution between July 2005 and March 2006.