Percutaneous vertebroplasty: A special syringe for cement injection

Percutaneous vertebroplasty is an effective treatment for many focal verteb ral lesions. Methyl methacrylate is too viscous to be handled without diffi culty in the conventional way because injection time is short. The operator is left with little time and must fumble with multiple syringes. We descri be a special screw-system syringe that decreases the effort needed to injec t the cement. In addition, it can standardize the injection pressures and c ontrol the injected volume because the threaded plunger affords greater con trol of injection pressure and volume delivered than does the conventional method.