Mao G, et al. - Through a prospective randomized cohort study of 64 patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs), the researchers intended to assess the impact of intraoperative vertebral anesthesia on OVCFs when treated with percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP). Patients were categorized into the traditional local anesthesia group and the experimental group. No marked difference in the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score was observed prior to surgery between the 2 groups. However, the VAS scores during balloon dilatation, bone cement injection and soon post-surgery were significantly altered between the 2 groups. Also, between the 2 groups, the readiness to undergo reoperation was markedly different with no marked difference in the complications. Hence, in mitigating perioperative pain during PKP, traditional local anesthesia merged with vertebral anesthesia was efficient. Furthermore, no serious complication during the operation was recognized.